


My Brother's Keepsake

by foryoureyesonly1



Category: One Piece
Genre: Character Death, Comfort/Angst, Cooking, F/M, Falling In Love, Family Dynamics, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Motherhood, Original Character(s), Reader-Insert, Suicide Attempt, Survivor Guilt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2020-12-24 17:43:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 23
Words: 102,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21103439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foryoureyesonly1/pseuds/foryoureyesonly1
Summary: After the death of Portgas D. Ace, the Navy wish to prevent the continuation of the bloodline of the Pirate King. They send soldiers to an island on the Grand Line where Ace's girlfriend is rumoured to live, in order to wipe it out once and for all.Sabo, distraught over his failure to save his brother's life decides to atone for this by protecting the woman his brother loved. And so he searches for her, but what he finds is a lot more than he expected.***Set during and after the timeskip****Also some Acexreader flashbacks.☆I do not own One Piece or any of the characters in this story. All credit goes to Mr Eichiiro Oda.☆





	1. Prologue

PROLOGUE

Sabo rode up a tall mountain in a sturdy horse-drawn carriage. The wind was blowing wildly but he paid no attention to it. His heart was heavy and he hoped that he was at the right place. It had been two weeks since Ace had died. The guilt kept gnawing at him, and the pain would not stop. The memories were flooding back endlessly to him and he felt like they would consume him. He had known Ace since they were five years old and they had been each other's first friend. Together with Ace and Luffy, they had made a pact to become brothers. 

And yet, when Ace needed him most, he was not there for him. 

He was worried about Luffy but since he had seen him in the newspaper when he went back to Marineford, he knew he was fine for now. He had no idea where Luffy was at this moment so there was nothing he could do for him. But there was someone else that he could protect, for Ace.

The Navy had torn through a small island, Issaquah Island, on the Grand Line, where Ace had frequently come to visit. They were searching for you, a woman named Y/N, a bartender who was rumoured to have been Ace's girlfriend. It was apparently because of you that this island had been under Whitebeard's protection. However no one could find you, in fact, no one had seen you in the past six months. The last time that Ace came to this place, he had taken you with him. Sabo had gone to great lengths in order to find you. The Revolutionary Army had wiretapped some of the Navy's transponder snails and Sabo had been able to learn about a certain man who knew where you might be.

He was a bounty hunter named Ledio that Ace had hired a year ago to find someone, a woman presumed to be your grandmother. He was sure that you were in that village where he had found her. Sabo had found the bounty hunter first and 'persuaded' him for the information on your whereabouts, thus he was in this village searching for you, his brother's love. If he could protect you in Ace's stead, he would at least be able start atoning for not going to save Ace. 

There was a small house on the mountain top, and Sabo stopped in front of it, got off the carriage and knocked on the door. There was no answer. He knocked again and heard shuffling inside. An old woman opened the door. She held a gun and pointed it at Sabo. He could easily overpower her and destroy the weapon, but the poor woman was shaking in fear. She'd probably never held a gun before. Sabo raised his hands.

"Who are you? What do you want?" She said shaking. 

"I'm looking for Y/N. I'm not here to hurt you." He said. 

"You're with the Marines aren't you? I'm not handing her over to you." 

"I'm not a Marine. I'm here to help her escape." He paused. "I'm Ace's friend from the Revolutionary Army. I'm here to help."

"A-Ace." She started but was interrupted by a loud scream from inside. 

"Is that her? Is she in trouble?" Sabo reacted hastily and forced his way inside. He walked straight into the bedroom from where the scream came. He came to an abrupt stop when he saw you lying down on the bed. 

You were in pain, sweating and your vision was blurred. You screamed again writhing on the bed when you heard footsteps entering your bedroom. "Nana, hurry up. I can't take it anymore. It hurts...it's too soon!" You turned to face her but to your surprise, a young man in a long black jacket with a blue shirt and vest, a frilled cravat, and a top hat with goggles over the band stood there instead. 

"Who are you? Where's Nana?" You asked fearfully. 

Sabo stared at you in disbelief. "A...a pregnant woman?!"

***


	2. 1. Ace's Brother

The stranger stared at you, astonished. Who was he and why was he here? You were scared, in pain, alone and your water had broken two hours ago.

Nana rushed in after him.

"Who's he?" You asked clutching the sheets to ease your pain.

"Is that Ace's-" he started to say but another scream from you cut him off.

"If you really mean no harm, make yourself useful. Get me some towels from the bathroom." Nana said to the confused young man who then followed her order.  
Nana hurried to the base of the bed.

"Start pushing again." Nana said after the stranger handed her the towels and backed away.

The pain was almost unbearable but you pushed with all your might. Dammit, why was the baby coming now of all times? It had only been seven and a half months after all. Was it because you had spent the last two weeks crying uncontrollably and in a state of utter devastation? Had your pain caused your hormones to fluctuate?

_♤_ _Ace._ _♤_

"You're doing great. I can see the head now."

You needed something to hold on to, so you could bear the pain. Your hand fumbled and grabbed on to something. You squeezed it desperately as you made the final push. You heard someone flinching close to you. You finally let go of whatever you had been holding on to.

It was over, you were breathing heavily and tired but then you heard it. A beautiful cry, like a simple melody reached your ears.

"It's a girl." Nana said wrapping the tiny thing in a towel. She poured some medicine into a cup and handed it to you.

"Drink this first. You need to rest." You quickly drank the bitter drug and held out your hands for your baby.

You took the tiny bundle into your arms. She had dark hair, there were a few freckles on her cheeks and her eyes were closed but her tiny mouth was moving, making an indistinct sound. Her breathing was rather strained and a bit heavy, you supposed it would take a while for her to adjust to the outside air.

She was the most beautiful thing you had ever seen.

You brought her up and kissed her forehead. You held her warm face next to yours and then looked at her closely. A beautiful miracle was before your eyes. The tears started to fall from your eyes.

_♤_ _This is our daughter, Ace_ _.♤_

Sabo rubbed his wrist as you had so mercilessly squeezed it in your pain. He was sure you'd almost broken a bone. He looked down at the baby in your arms.

He would recognise those freckles anywhere.

"That child is Ace's, isn't it?" He asked.

You looked up sharply and held the baby to your chest.

"I'd rather die than give her to you! I won't let you hurt my baby." You said. You were vulnerable right now, you knew there was no way you could protect the child from him, but you would try anyway.

"I'm not here to hurt you. Ace is.... Ace was my brother." He said.

You eyed him closely. "You can't fool me. You're not Luffy."

"My name is Sabo."

Your eyes widened. "I don't believe you. Sabo is dead. That's why Ace had that S on his tatoo."

"I suppose there is no way I can convince you of who I am." He sighed.

You started to feel drowsy. Nana who was done cleaning everything up, took the baby from you. "The pain medicine I gave you makes you drowsy. Get some sleep. She'll be hungry when you wake up."

You could barely resist the urge to sleep. You were tired after all.  
You drifted to sleep, dreaming of memories that you could never get back.

_♤"You shouldn't just sing to drown out all the other voices. It's such a waste." Ace said. _

_"I can't help it. I've been this way my whole life." You replied. It was strange how easy it had been for _ _you_ _ to open up to him._

_"Then I'll teach you how to control it and you won't have to suffer anymore."_

_"It can be controlled?" You asked _a_s__ he pulled over to him._

_"Like I said, you just have a naturally gifted colour of observation."_

_"I see." You started absent-mindedly humming again. _

"_You have such a beautiful voice, Y/N. It seems like you're always singing something interesting every time I see you." Ace said. _

_"I told you, didn't I? My Nana always told me that every moment in our lives is just a verse in the song of life. Each and every person we meet adds something to that song." You paused. "But to truly be happy we need to find someone to complete the song in our hearts."_

_"Hmm...what kind of a song is that?" Ace asked._

_Nana said it was love. _

_But back then, you were too afraid to say anything that would push him away. It had been hard enough just getting close to him. You didn't want to lose him._

_"A song that never stops playing." You said snuggling into his arms._ _♤_

The sound of a baby crying woke you up.

Your eyes were still groggy as you opened them. The baby wrapped in a sheet was sleeping next to you and a gloved hand was reaching for her.

"Oh, she must have woken you up. I guess she's hungry." The man standing next to your bed said.

You were a little startled, but still too weak to move. You sat up slowly and took the baby in your arms.

"Where's Nana?" You asked.

"She went down into town." He responded.

"She left me all alone with a stranger? She must trust you." You closed your eyes, in your weakened state, you doubted if you would be able sense his true feelings, but if he had any ill will towards you, you would feel it. Sure enough, you could not sense any bad intention from him.

"I'm still too weak to move, can you please bring me a bucket of warm water from the boiler outside into the bathroom. I want to take a bath after I feed her." You said politely.

"Oh. Yes, of course." He said leaving the room.

As you unbuttoned your shirt to start feeding her, you looked at the small thing in your arms sadly. Would the world leave her alone or was she destined to live a troubled life like her father had?  
You had no answers, no promises you could make for this child's future. Only a few hours old and this baby was already cursed with such a pathetic mother.

Nana walked into your room just as you finished feeding the baby.

"Where have you been? Here take her. I need a bath." You handed the child over.

"Will you be fine on your own? Let me help you." Nana said taking the baby.

"I'm fine." You lied and wrapped your body in a towel and limped into the bathroom. With the way that your body was in water, it would no doubt ease the pain.

Alone in there, you finally started crying. The pain in your body felt like nothing compared to your heart.

_♤_ _Ace, what am I supposed to do without you? Can I raise this child by myself? I can't even protect myself, how am I supposed to protect our daughter? Ace...why did you leave us behind?_ _♤_

You shook uncontrollably with tears and fear for your future, until the water turned cold. Having shed so many tears left you even more drained and while the bath was refreshing to your body, it did nothing for your mood.

Nana made some food for you and put the baby to sleep. You still had trouble walking, so you sat down on the bed next to your daughter.

"She's wearing clothes." You exclaimed. "Nana, how were you able to get these? We have no money!"

"Ah, Sabo-san gave me some earlier, he told me to buy some clothes and milk for the baby as well as clothes and food for us too. The instructions were quite specific." Nana told you.

You wondered what was with that man? Was he really the brother that Ace thought he had lost? "Tell him to come in here." You covered yourself with a blanket.

"Are you feeling better?" Sabo asked when he came in.

"Why did you come here?" You asked. "To Firo Island?"

"I didn't want you to be captured by the Marines. I wanted to let you escape." He said.

Your head was clearer now so you observed him, there was no malice in his emotions. You could feel guilt, sorrow and sadness from him, but not malice. You relaxed a little.

"Are you really Ace's brother?"

"Yes." He said. The guilty feelings in him rose to the surface. "You must be angry with me."

"Why would I be? We just met." You responded.

"Because I didn't go to save Ace. Your daughter will grow up without a father...I may have been able to prevent that if I had gone to Marineford. You'd be justified in your anger." He said looking down.

"I don't blame you for anything. I didn't go either." You said quietly. "Thank you for the clothes." You said changing the subject.

"Oh. About that, I'm sorry to say this while you're not feeling well but we need to leave this place before the Navy finds us. I've waited too long as it is." He said.

"What do you mean? They don't know anything about Nana. How will they find us?" You asked.

"Do you know a bounty hunter named Ledio?" He asked.

"Yeah, Ace hired him over a year ago to find Nana for me. She and I had separated years ago but he found her on this island and we were able to reunite after I left Issaquah Island. Why?" You asked.

"He was planning on informing the Navy about your grandmother as he thought you might be with her. I got to him first and that's how I was able to find you." Sabo paused. "I left him pretty badly injured and tied up but it's only a matter of time before he wakes up. I want you to be out of this island by then."

You were afraid for you and your daughter's lives. Could you trust this person and go with him? He did not seem like a bad person and if he was right, it was bad for you to stay here.

"I understand. Let's leave tomorrow." You said.

"But you're still not fit to travel. You need to rest." Nana protested.

"I'd rather be sick and safe, than be fine when they kill me and my daughter." You said.

"Very well then. Tomorrow it is." Said Sabo.

"Then, Nana, my daughter and I shall be in your care, Sabo." You replied.

***  
The clothes Nana had bought for you were fit for nobility. You supposed Sabo had instructed her to buy those for a specific disguise. Nana was dressed as a nurse and the baby looked like she belonged to a wealthy family.

Your words had been brave but you were still very weak. Nana carried the baby and Sabo supported so you would not fall you until you were seated inside his carriage. You then took the baby and Nana sat in front of you while Sabo sat next to you.

"You don't need to drive the carriage?" You asked.

"It's okay, we're only going down the mountain, and this way we'll go slower." He said as the carriage started moving down. He was being considerate of your condition.

"Thank you." Nana said. "You're very kind."

"Oh, no, really." He said embarrassed.

You looked down at your sleeping daughter who looked peaceful despite the shaking of the carriage.

"Did you have a name for her?" Sabo asked watching you.

"Her name is Rouge." You said. "Portgas D. Rouge."

Sabo smiled. "After Ace's mother. He would have liked that."

You felt tears welling up in your eyes. "It's sad, she will never be able to use her father's last name if she's to survive. I abandoned my last name when Nana and I left home...is she going to have no identity in her life?"

Sabo reached out and touched your shoulder. "Don't worry about that. It just means that she can choose who she wants to be when she grows up. The freedom to do that, is more priceless than anything in this world."

You looked up at him. He was smiling down at you. For the first time since Ace's death, you felt hope in your heart. You held on to your daughter as you burst into tears.

"Sabo. You really came to protect us...I was so close to giving up my life and following Ace...I was so close to breaking down and falling apart! Thank you, for coming for us." You wept. "I know it's selfish to ask...I know you don't have to...but please don't leave us." You whispered, still crying.

Sabo's expression changed, "You don't have to worry about me leaving you behind. You are the woman that my brother loved, and Rouge is my precious niece." His eyes were filled with determination as he looked at you. "I promise that I won't abandon you, I will always protect you with my own life."

The past few months had been cold for you. Ever since Ace had been arrested, you had struggled in the darkness of your depressed mind. There had been no light in your path. You had almost discarded your own life many times. And this man, whom you'd only known for a day was treating you as a precious life to be saved, creating a ray of light for you to follow.

_♤_ _Ace, did you send him to us, to protect us? Are you watching over us?_ _♤_

This time when you cried, you didn't know if it was because you were happy or sad. Sitting in that carriage, you had a little hope of rebuilding your life.


	3. Obnoxious Nobles

The carriage arrived at the port and Sabo helped you out of it. He led you up to a large cruise ship, fancier than anything you had been in, in a long time.

"I didn't know about the baby, but it's fine, I had bought three first class tickets for you, your grandmother and I. It should still work as Rouge does not need a ticket anyway." Sabo said. "I'm glad that I got first class, now you can travel comfortably."

"Oh, thank you for your consideration." You said gratefully. "You can call her Nana."

Nana nodded in agreement.

A bellhop appeared to take your bags, you did not have much, only one bag with your clothes and books, and a smaller one carried by Nana which contained Rouge's clothes, nappies for her to change into later as well as bottles of milk. He bowed down deeply to you, no doubt thinking that you were important nobles. You were led into the ship, and were sat comfortably in your balcony room. It was great, there was a comfortable bed, air conditioning, a safe box, minifridge, and an ensuite bathroom that was small but pleasant.

"How long until we reach our destination?" You asked Sabo.

"We will arrive in Jyro Island in four days. After that we'll get on my ship which will take us to our destination in one day." He replied.

You did not ask what the final destination was, and honestly, you did not care at all as long as you were safe. You knew that as long as you were with him, you would be safe. For some reason unknown to you, Sabo made you feel safe.

"I'm going to get a doctor to check on you, you are still feeling poorly, right?" Sabo asked concerned.

"Don't worry about me." You said. He looked over at Nana for confirmation.

"She'll be fine, she heals quickly. I'm more worried about Rouge, she was born prematurely. I'm just a nurse so I did everything I could to make sure she was okay, but, she's been breathing heavily, and I'm worried about her." Nana said.

"You think something's wrong with Rouge?" You asked alarmed.

"I just want to be sure that nothing's wrong." Nana told you.

"I understand. I'll bring the doctor here at once." Sabo said moving out of the room quickly. He returned a few minutes later with a young female doctor carrying medical supplies. "This is her."

The doctor moved up to you, who was holding your baby tightly. "I'm Doctor Filmore, I would like to examine you, Madam, and your baby. Is that alright?" She asked. You looked at Sabo for reassurance, and he nodded.

"Okay." You said cautiously.

"Now, what is your name and this pretty little baby's name?"

"I am (Fake name (F/N)) and this is Rouge." You said.

"I see. Well, your husband said your nurse delivered the baby, is that her?" Dr. Filmore asked.

You blinked, husband? Oh, well, you supposed it was the easiest disguise for Sabo to say he was travelling with his wife and daughter along with her nurse.

"Ah, yes, that's me." said Nana. The doctor started examining Rouge and putting down notes in her file.

"How far along was the pregnancy?" she asked.

"Seven and a half months." you told her. "Is something wrong?"

"Not really. It's just her lungs weren't completely developed when she was born, but she doesn't have neonatal respiratory distress syndrome, just that she produces a lot less surfactant than required, that's why she breathes heavily." The doctor told you.

You were horrified. Because of your stress and poorly taken care of body, your baby was sick. Because you couldn't hold out much longer in your distress, you had done this to your baby.

♤_Ace, I'm already a terrible mother. Your mother carried you for twenty months even after the death of the man she loved. I am too weak...like you always said. I have done this to my daughter. I don't deserve to be her-__♤_

"But, you can treat her, right? You just said that it's not serious." Sabo cut into your thoughts.

"Oh, yes, of course. All she needs is just more surfactant until her lungs start producing more. It should only take a couple of days, but surfactant usually is given through a breathing tube to go directly into the baby's lungs. You must have been taking pretty good care of your body, for your baby's lungs to be this developed at only seven months." The doctor said. "I need parental consent to put her under the breathing tube."

You were slumped down on the bed, weak and whimpering. Without hesitation, Sabo signed the consent form and Dr. Filmore started prepping the baby's treatment.

"You heard that, right? Because you took such great care of yourself, the baby's going to be fine. It could have been a lot worse." Sabo smiled down at you. "You are such a good mother."

♤_How does he know just what to say? I'm supposed to be the one who sees through people and yet this man, as if he's staring right at my insecurities, finds a way to lift up my spirits even when I'm doubting myself so much. Is it because he's smiling down at a lost, crying me? Ace, your brother is amazing.__♤_

You burst into tears and covered your face with a pillow. You had to be strong, after all.  
After she was done with Rouge's treatment, Dr. Filmore wanted to examine you, but you refused, insisting that you were fine. Rouge was fine because she was three quarters human, but any good doctor would be able to tell from examining your body that there was no way that you could be a noble. You did not want to risk blowing your cover. In the end she gave you some anti inflammatory and pain medicine before she left.

Sabo brought you dinner in your room since you did not feel like going out to eat with everyone on the ship's restaurant. Rouge's cradle was next to your bed with the breathing tube attached to her, you wanted to stay awake with her all night, but you were sleepy.

Nana was sleeping on the couch outside and Sabo was not around. You were sleepy but you could not sleep. For some reason, you had a fear of sleeping alone, you'd had it for a long time, since the death of your mother. It was fine if people were making noise outside, as long as you could hear them, but this was a luxury suite and it was soundproof. You could not even hear Nana who was right outside. The silence terrified you.

There was no way you could sleep with the quietness of the ship. Even Rouge's breathing seemed to be getting quieter.

"Still awake?" A quiet voice said from the door.

"Yeah." You replied.

"You should get some sleep." Sabo said about to close the door.

"Wait don't go!" You said and he stopped. "Please, stay with me until I fall asleep. I...I'm scared of sleeping alone."

Sabo came up and sat on the chair next to your bed.

"I'm sorry to trouble you." You said quietly. "When I'm alone, my thoughts drift to my mother."

Sabo did not pry. "Get some sleep." He repeated. "I'll be here all night."

"All night? Aren't you going to sleep?"

"I'll sleep during the day. I need to keep a lookout." He said.

"But no-one is gonna hurt us here, right?"

"There are Celestial Dragons on this ship. I can't be too careful." He muttered.

You closed your eyes. According to Ace, Sabo had been presumed dead after an attack by a Celestial Dragon...was that how he got his scar? You hadn't seen it when he still had his hat on as his hair covered most of it. But you could see it now that he wasn't wearing it. Did he resent them? Still, you were grateful for his protection. After all, you were a rare breed yourself, you were sure the Celestial Dragons would pay a lot for you.

When you woke up the next day, he was fast asleep on the chair with one hand over Rouge's cradle. She must have woken up in the middle of the night, he probably lulled her back to sleep. You smiled.

The next two days were spent inside the bedroom. Dr. Filmore's medicine helped and you were feeling better. She came to check on Rouge at least twice a day. According to her, you'd be able to remove the breathing device from Rouge and she would be fine when you left the ship the next day.

Sabo came up to you that day and said, "You shouldn't just stay in here all day. I stole the money for these tickets from some obnoxious noble. You should try the hot springs. It's fake, but pretty fancy."

"Oh. I'd love to, but I'm not comfortable being half submerged in water with strangers." You told him honestly.

He assumed that you were a Devil Fruit eater. "I'll make a booking for you to use it alone, then. It's in the package. Might as well abuse it right?" He grinned.

You giggled. "So we're playing 'obnoxious nobles'. I'm cool with it."

Sabo raised his eyebrows. "Okay, I'll make the reservation." As he was walking away he turned and said over his shoulder. "You should smile more...it looks great on you."

♤_A genuine smile, huh? I used to smile all the time, cry all time too...I have never had trouble expressing my feelings. Ace, it's been three weeks since you died...I'm still very sad, still lonely and very depressed, but it's good to know that someone can still make me laugh without even thinking about it. I can see the future__ begin to form again.♤_

True to his word, he got you the reservation. Nana was asleep as she had watched over Rouge when she had woken up again in the middle of the night.

"Here," you said handing Rouge to Sabo. "Will you watch her for me?"

"M-m-me...hold her?" Said Sabo alarmed.

"Come on. You're her uncle aren't you?" You said. "Besides, I know that you watched over her when she woke up at night two days ago. What are you afraid of?"

"Th-that was different. I just rocked the cradle!" He was freaking out.

"Come on. You're the one who said that I should relax. Hold her."

"I'll drop her. My hands are shaking!" He was clearly flustered. It was amazing how easily he could make you laugh.

You gently placed the baby in his hands and his face lit up like a firefly. It was cute how quickly his expression turned from fear to happiness. Leaving the niece and uncle together, you went over to the hot springs.

In the atrium, a pianist was playing a song in the lobby and you hummed to it. Lookiing around, it didn't feel like you were inside a ship at all. It felt more like a luxury hotel with see through elevators and sparkling crystal stairs.

You made your way further down. Alone in the hot spring, you were able to relax and let your tail out in the water. You lay fully submerged, yet able to breathe easily, filling your scales with hot water. You moved your fins about carelessly soaking in the warmth.

The next day, you landed at a huge port at Jyro Island. The Marines were inspecting the passengers who were coming out of the ship. The Celestial Dragons did not get off at this port, they remained sitted on the ship forcing all of you to bow as you passed them by in their superior bubbles as they refused to breathe the same air as you.

Sabo was holding your hand so that you would not get separated in the commotion. However, you could see that he was gritting his teeth as he bowed to them before pulling you along.

There was a queue outside, but Sabo was in a hurry as he carried your bag and pulled you along with him with Nana nearly running behind you carrying Rouge.

"I'm sorry, sir. We have to confirm your ident-" started a young Marine as you passed the exit.

Sabo pulled out a noble's crest and shoved it in his face. "How insolent! My wife just had a baby and I have to take her to the doctor." He said with exaggerated arrogance. "To be stopped by a commoner! I am the brother of the great king Stelly of the Goa Kingdom!"

The young Marine, flustered at having offended 'royalty' apologised profusely and did not check your identities.

Once away from the crowd, on the backside of the port, Sabo snorted. "Using that identity..."

"What's so funny?" You asked.

"You wouldn't understand even if I told you." He smiled. "Come on, my comrades are over there."

You didn't get the joke, but it was fine because he seemed amused. He had become more laid back the more time you spent with him. You wondered if he was actually someone who smiled a lot.

"Chief! The ship's over here." A young man said to Sabo as you approached him.

"Sorry, my ship isn't as fancy as the cruise ship." Sabo apologised.

The ship in question was small, barely even decorated and looked quite plain except for the dark-red flag with the image of a dragon head with wings, the letters "R" and "A" were displayed on each side of the dragon head.

"Um, chief...who's..." The young man was looking at you and Sabo who was still holding your hand and at Nana in a nurse uniform carrying a baby.

Sabo immediately let go. "Oh, sorry. It's not as crowded here, so you won't get lost. This is my comrade Tetsu. Tetsu, this is my uh....my..."

How was he supposed to introduce you? Rouge's identity was supposed to be kept secret.

"This is Y/N." He said finally. Tetsu seemed to have formed his own conclusion on Sabo's relationship with you as he greeted you with respect.

"Hello." You said politely.

"Oh, by the way, chief, I looked into it. There's a merchant ship that can fit two more passengers leaving for the North Blue today. Do you want me to reserve-" Tetsu started.

"That won't be necessary anymore. Escort Nana and the baby to my cabin so she can sleep." Sabo said and Tetsu followed his order.

"Were you going to send us to the North Blue?" You asked.

"Before I met you, I was." He said seriously. "But I made you a promise, I won't abandon you or my niece. I will protect you with my life. So you are coming to live with me. In Baltigo."

♤_Somehow, those words will forever be etched in my heart. Ace, I'm looking forward to starting afresh.♤_

Sabo let you sleep in his cabin. It was a single bed, so Nana slept somewhere else. That night, he sat at his desk, reading. A part of you wondered if he was really reading or watching over you because of your fear of sleeping alone.

Either way, with him there, you drifted off to sleep easily.


	4. Treacherous Sea

_♤Issaquah Island was always filled with pirates because it was where the second largest bank in the world was located. Naturally corruption ran rampant, nobody cared where the gold that pirates came to exchange for berries came from. The Navy was on the pirates payroll and because the city officials paid the Heavenly Tribute to the Celestial Dragons generously in the form of pure celestial gold every year, the World Government left the island alone._

_You worked in Issaquah Lounge, the largest restaurant/bar on the island. You were a singer there, as well as some occasional waitressing and bartending._

_ _The first time that you met Ace was nearly two years ago at Issaquah Island, a few months after he joined the Whitebeard Pirates. _ _

_You were sitting on a small boat, watching the sea, when you saw a shirtless young man, the symbol of the Whitebeard Pirates on his back, sitting on the edge of a ship eating at least three huge pieces of meat at once. You knew pirates ate a lot, but this guy ate like it was his first meal in years._

_As you watched him, transfixed, you saw his eyes closing and he fell into the sea. You were stunned as you watched the water, but he didn't come out. You cursed under your breath. Whitebeard would rain terror over the island if one of his men died here._

_You jumped into the water and felt your body transforming, the fish naturally converged towards you and told you where he'd fallen. You swam faster than any living creature and found him. His eyes were half open as you carried him up into his ship. You _ _performed_ _ CPR on him and he coughed. _

_"You're alive." You said. _

_He blinked. "What happened to my meat?" He asked. _

_You stared at him. "I just saved your life and you're worried about food?" _

_"You did? Thank you very much." He said bowing politely. His dark hair was wet, and it stuck to the sides of his face. You noticed that he had freckles. They were really cute. You wanted to touch his face._

_"Hmm? Wasn't it a mermaid who saved me?" He asked looking around and noticing your legs._

_What a pity you thought, he was so good looking and such an idiot. "It was me."_

_He frowned. "Your freckles are cute." You said before you could stop yourself. _

_"Oh, they are?" His stomach growled. "Hey do you want to buy me dinner?" He asked. _

_What kind of a man was this? You burst out laughing. "What's your name?"_

_"Portgas D. Ace. Nice to meet you." He said. _

_You pulled out a wet ticket from your pocket. "This is a coupon for one free meal under 80 000 berry. It comes with a free drink too. I work at Issaquah Lounge. Ask for Y/N."_

_"Oh, you're so generous." He smiled. _

_"See ya, Ace." You said hoping to see him again.♤_

A sudden violent shaking of the ship woke you up.

"Chief! We're being attacked by pirates!" A voice said.

"Ssh...you'll wake the baby. And I already know about that." Sabo said standing up. "Who is it?" He asked.

"It's the 83 000 000 berry rookie, "Sneaky Swordsman" Dimetri Sherri and his crew."

"Huh, what kind of epithet is that? Does he sneak up on people or something?" Sabo asked trying not to laugh.

"Chief, don't underestimate him. He's the one who attacked Kasia village. We saw it a while ago, people were sliced up including some marines!" Tetsu said. "There's at least thirty of them on deck right now and there's only six of us. They are overwhelming us with numbers."

"Alright. I'm coming." Sabo said. He turned to you. "Sorry to wake you, the treacherous sea to Baltigo is filled with all types of dangers. I'll go take care of it now, so don't worry."

Your eyes followed him out the door. You hadn't seen him fight so you were naturally curious of his strength. Rouge was fast asleep, so you followed after Sabo and watched the fight through a creak on the door leading to the deck. Sabo stepped up to the deck where his comrades were getting overwhelmed by the pirates. He assessed the situation and merely stared intensely at everyone and the pirates dropped to the ground like flies. Was that a special technique? Either way, it was pretty cool.

"You bastard, what did you do to my men?" Said a middle aged man pulling out a sword from the two he had on his waist.

"Oh, you are quite tough. You must be the captain, Grio Sherman!" Said Sabo.

"Huh? It's Dimetri Sherri!" He said swinging his sword at Sabo who blocked it with his metal pipe, he swung and was blocked a few more times before jumping into the air. "Secret Technique: Falling Meteor!" He said coming down straight at Sabo using the force from his jump holding down his sword for a vertical strike. Sabo held his pipe horizontally, was he crazy, an attack like that would surely cut through his pipe and hit him.

It didn't. Instead, holding his pipe horizontally in both hands, Sabo thrust upwards meeting Dimetri's sword full on, blocking it and using the force to send him flying to the edge of the ship.

"Your swordsmanship isn't bad, Gitriv Shenna." Sabo said butchering his name again. 

"Don't act so superior, bastard. I ate the Bulb Bulb Fruit and I'm a bulbman. I'll make you remember my name." He stood up. "Bulb Light Shun!" Suddenly, the whole place was pitch black, he'd sucked all the light out. You were better at feeling and hearing things than seeing so you had no idea what was going on as you only heard a single clash.

The darkness evaporated showing Sabo holding half a broken sword with his gloved fingers in a weird shape.

"Sorry, that only works on people who can't see in the dark." Sabo smiled smugly.

"You broke my sword with your bare hand!"

"I used my claws."

Dimetri pulled out his second sword. "This is the water sword, Mizumaru! You won't be able to touch it! You can see in the dark? How about I blind you? Bulb Light Excess!"

The place was suddenly bright with blinding light. Dimetri swung at Sabo who, eyes closed, tried to block with his pipe but it went through the sword like water. The water droplets from Dimetri's swing headed full force for Sabo, no doubt attempting to cut him but he dodged easily with his eyes closed. 

"How about this then, Mizumaru mist!" Dimetri shouted and the area was covered in mist.

"What a joke. A novice like you won't land a single hit on me." You head Sabo's voice say. The mist cleared and Sabo was holding Dimetri up by the neck, choking him. His sword fell to the ground. 

"So they call you sneaky because you attack people in the dark, or blind them or hide within a mist? How cowardly. We passed through Kasia village, where you hid in the mist and attacked marines and innocent civilians because they wouldn't give you celestial gold." He said.

Dimetri tried to pull away from Sabo's hold but, Sabo smiled, not his usual carefree smile, but a sadistic, almost evil smile. "Careful, my claws can break your bones without me breaking a single sweat. But don't worry, your bounty will be a nice consolation for the people at Kasia village." He crashed his head against the ship rendering the pirate unconscious. 

Sabo had just defeated an 83 million berry rookie in under two minutes, without getting hit once.

_♤He is strong.♤_

"Tetsu, how far from captain Runa's marine base are we?" Sabo asked.

"We passed it three hours ago, sir." He replied.

"If we go back now, we'll arrive at about 9AM, right? Turn the ship around. We're gonna collect this fool's bounty." Sabo said coming towards the inside of the ship.

You quickly ran back into his cabin and lay on the bed.

Sabo came in a moment later. "Did you think if you hastily came back in I wouldn't notice that you were watching the fight?" He asked.

"Sorry." You murmured, guilty. "I just wondered how strong you were."

"It's okay, he was just a chump, but I do hope that you don't make a habit of putting yourself in harm's way." He sat back down.

♤_He calls an 83 million berry pirate a chump? Ace, he really is your brother.♤_

"We're taking a slight detour, but we'll be in Baltigo by late afternoon today. You can go back to sleep." He said.

You got into the blankets and closed your eyes.

When you woke up again, it was because of a sudden movement of the ship. You hadn't woken up when the ship had stopped a little way away from a marine base.

"We're back on course. Tetsu already handed the pirates over to the marines." Sabo said noticing that you were awake.

"I see."

Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, gotcha.

"Hello, Sabo-san?" The voice on the other side of the transponder snail said.

"Oh, Runa. Is everything okay?" Sabo replied.

"Chief, I heard you caught Dimetri, but you won't take the money?"

"That's right. Take half and send it to Kasia village. I'm sure they'll appreciate it. And send 20 million to Lindbergh, he needs it to complete a complete a project that he's working on. The rest you can keep to use as an emergency fund for your mission." Sabo instructed.

"What? But we don't need that much, you should take some-" Runa protested.

"You're putting your lives on the line everyday working undercover. I want to make sure you have everything you need should something go wrong." Sabo said and before the other man could respond, he continued, "We already took all the treasure from his ship, so don't worry."

"Well, if you insist, Sabo-san , I'll take it, but I won't use it until I have to." Runa relented.

"Excellent. Now about that Devil Fruit that I asked you about, any news?"

"Nothing yet sir. But if the Navy get a hold of it you'll be the first to know." He assured him.

"Good. Well take care, alright." Sabo said.

"Of course. Oh, by the way-" Gotcha.

"You hung up? He was still talking." You said.

"Oh, was he? Well if it's urgent he'll call again." Sabo said nonchalantly putting the transponder snail down.

"Oh, what's that? It's so pretty." You said looking at something that Sabo had laid down on the floor.

He looked down, "Oh this. This is Mizumaru, the water sword. I took it from Delseph." He said, still getting the name wrong.

Somehow, it attracted you, the blue painted water drops along the black scabbard and the blue and white handle protruding from it, called out to you.

"It's so pretty." You said. Sabo picked it up and put it next to your bed.

"You can have it." He said.

"What? I've never held a sword before." You replied.

He shrugged. "I insist. I'm not gonna use it anyway." Without giving you a moment to respond, he left to check on the outside.

You were humming 'Golden Melody' to Rouge when Sabo came in to tell you that you had arrived at Baltigo.

"We're here. Dragon-san is waiting for me, when I left I was in a bad state. Tetsu and the others will bring your luggage. Let's hurry." Sabo said.

"Okay. " You stood up, picked up Rouge and were ready to go.

"I'm going to introduce you to the man I admire most in the world. He saved my life among many others...and I trust him more than anyone in the world. I understand, if you don't want to disclose Rouge's identity-" Sabo said.

"Sabo. I'm a huge fan of Dragon-sama too. I will be glad to meet him...and if you trust him so much, then I'm reassured." You said as he helped you off the ship.

The island was beautiful, it's soil was pure white, even the rocks in the distance were white. It was a little windy, but the weather seemed quite good for the Grand Line.

At the port, Sabo instructed Tetsu to wait there with Nana and he took you and Rouge with him. People greeted him along the way and a few shot curious looks at you and your daughter.  
Finally, you arrived at the largest building, that looked like a huge conference hall. This was the headquarters.

There were people busy answering transponder snails all over the place. "Ah, chief, you're back." Said a young man. He looked over at you in a questioning gaze.

"Is Dragon-san here?" Sabo asked.

"Ah...in his office." The young man followed both of you with his eyes until you reached the office at the end of the hall.

Sabo knocked on the door. "Dragon-san! It's me." He said.

"Oh, Sabo. You're back." A deep voice from the inside said. "Come in."

The two of you went in and the man inside looked up.

He was an older man with ragged black hair and a strange tattoo on his face. You'd never met him, but given circumstances of your birth and your past, you knew who he was. You'd always watched and admired his work from the newspapers and hearsay from the pirates back when you worked at Issaquah Lounge. You couldn't believe that you were actually meeting Dragon the Revolutionary.

A look of surprise dawned on his face. To his credit, he only said, "Sabo. Explain."

"This is Y/N and that is Rouge. When I left here, I told you that I had to look for someone, that it was a personal matter. The truth is..." Sabo explained how he'd searched for you, found Ledio and was led to where you were.

"I see." said Dragon-sama. "Since you brought her here, I assume you want to be responsible for her?"

"I'm sorry to be so much trouble." Sabo said.

"You misunderstand. I think it's commendable that you want to do this. I just hope it's not out of guilt." He said.

"A part of it is," Sabo admitted. "But I know Ace would have done the same for me. It's my duty as his brother and I made Y/N a promise."

"Well that's fine. Now I understand, more than anyone the importance of keeping a child's parentage a secret for their protection. You're welcome to stay, Miss Y/N. There's plenty of space among the refugees in this place." Dragon-sama said to you.

"Thank you sir." You said, speaking for the first time since you got here.

"Actually, I'd rather keep her closer to me." Sabo said. "I think they should stay at my house."

Dragon-sama looked surprised but did not object. "I trust everyone that we work with here, but with something like this, the less people that know about Miss Y/N and Miss Rouge's true identity, the safer it is for them. So you better come up with a good reason for them staying with you."

Sabo nodded. "Yeah. The way people were looking at us earlier, I'm sure they think that that I had a daring love story with an innocent girl and got her pregnant. But I'll come up with something that won't make Y/N uncomfortable."

"I don't mind." You said.

"You don't?" Asked Sabo surprised.

"Yeah. It's better like that. It will also deter any unwanted potential suitors." You stopped. "U-unless of course you mind, Sabo."

"No. It's fine." He said. "After all, you and Rouge _ar_e my family."

_♤'You are my family.' He says. He has no idea what that that word means to me, who it means, and who it doesn't mean. He has no idea how long I've searched for the fulfilment of family. _  
_Ace, how is it that the words your brother says so nonchalantly pierce so deeply into the song of my soul?♤_


	5. Baltigo

As soon as you left the Headquarters, Sabo called Tetsu on the transponder snail to bring your luggage and Nana up to his house. It wasn't too far off from the Headquarters, but he still opted to use a strange vehicle to transport you and Rouge.

It was a metal vehicle with four seats, two in front and two at the back. There were two wheels, one at the rear and the other at the front. There was a giant rotor right above the rear wheel, turning slightly in the wind.

Sabo pulled up the glass roof above it, and opened the door for you.

"What is this?" You asked him. "Does it run on wind?"

"Yup. This is how we travel around Baltigo as there are no real roads. They are called winrots." He told you. "Wind powered vehicles that use rotors whose orientation can be adjusted to face the wind. The rotor is connected to the wheels via a drive train causing the rotor to rotate faster with increasing vehicle speed." He said getting into the driver's seat.

You pretended to understand it. You found the winrots cool, perfect for a windy island. The winrot picked up speed, leaving white dust in it's wake as the rotor rotated furiously moving you forward in the wind.

It was not long before you reached your destination.

"We could have walked." You mumbled as Sabo held out his hand to help you out of the winrot after parking it.

"Yeah, but it's really dusty and this weather takes a lot of getting used to." He said.

He was right. It was quite windy and you had to pull up Rouge's blanket to cover her face as well. You looked around the place.

There was a long row of buildings stretching across the windswept land. You trekked along the white soil, behind Sabo. The houses were also mostly white, probably because they were built from the natural materials of the island. Some were painted or decorated with flowers outside, however the house you stopped in front of, was just plain white and devoid of any decorations. He took out the keys and opened the door. You sneezed as dust reached your nose, glad that Rouge's face was covered.

"Sorry, I haven't lived here in a while. I'm always out on missions and whenever I come back to the island, I usually stay at the Headquarters because that's where the food is. I haven't actually lived here since a long time ago. I do sleep here occasionally or if we have an influx of refugees, I let them stay here as well." He explained. "It hasn't been cleaned in a while, I can get someone to clean up before you settle in."

You could tell it had been a while since someone actually stayed here, as you opened the windows to let air in. The living room and kitchen were dusty, but other than that, it seemed well kept.

"No need. I'll fix it up myself, I can't let you do everything." You said.

"Well, there's only two bedrooms, we can repurpose the room Kuma-san used as an office for a bedroom for Nana, but I'm afraid Rouge won't be able to get a nursery-" he started.

"You saw the shack that Nana and I lived in. There was only a kitchen and a small bedroom that we shared which was directly connected to the bathroom. And when I lived at Issaquah Island, I lived in a tiny bachelor room above Issaquah Lounge. This place is a luxury." You assured him. He seemed relieved.

Nana arrived a short while later. You cleaned the kitchen first while Sabo and Tetsu moved some boxes from the office room. The two bedrooms and one bathroom were upstairs along with a small storeroom, but the office, which would be Nana's room was downstairs. After you were done cleaning the kitchen, you put Rouge to sleep there.

After Sabo and Tetsu had moved the desk and chair from the office to Sabo's bedroom, they brought in an extra bed from the storeroom into the room. It finally started to look like a bedroom. Nana made lunch for everyone and Tetsu had to leave soon after that.

You were in the kitchen with Sabo, when, "Sabo-kun!" came a loud voice from the front of the house. Sabo tensed up a little.

The door opened and a young lady with brownish-orange hair barged in. She was wearing a pink shirt and a short black skirt as she rushed in.

"Sabo-kun, it's not true is it? Everyone is saying you have a wife and child, but if something like that happened, I'd know about it, right? Kyaaa!" She stopped when she saw you and Rouge.

"She's not my wife." Sabo mumbled.

The girl put her hands on her head. She started shaking Sabo vigorously. "Whaaat, Sabo-kun! How could you be so irresponsible?!"

"Y/N, this is my best friend, Koala. As you can tell, she's a little insane." Sabo said when she finally released him.

"Huh? Who's crazy?" She said pulling his face. "You disappear for a week and bring back a family? We spend so much time together, when did you even have time to see her? How long have you been lying to me you jerk?!"

"I never had any reason to tell you." he said finally pulling her off him.

They seemed really close. "Sabo, if she's your best friend, then I trust her too. You can tell her the truth." You said.

"Are you sure?" He asked. You nodded. "The truth is, she was Ace's woman and that child is his. This is the best way for me to protect my brother's family."

Koala had her mouth agape in shock of this news.

"Oh, Ace had a daughter?" A voice said from the door.

All three of you turned around, alarmed, that someone had overheard you. The voice belonged to another woman. A beautiful lady with long black hair, and pretty blue eyes. "If you're going to talk about such secretive stuff, you should close the door, you never know who might be listening." She smiled closing the door.

"Robin!" Sabo said. You looked at him in fear, "Don't worry, you can trust her too. She's one of Luffy's crewmates. Robin, this is Y/N."

"Nice to meet you Robin-san." You looked up at her and she smiled at you as you shook hands. "Eh, so you're one of Luffy-kun's friends, huh? I can't wait to meet him. From all the stories Ace told me, he sounds like quite an interesting character." You said.

"I'm sure he will exceed your expectations." She said.

Just then, Rouge woke up and gave the tiniest yawn you had ever seen, turning everyone's attention to her. The transformation on Robin and Koala's faces was instant as you picked her up, trying to soothe her.

"Awww." Koala said with a huge smile.

"C-cute." Robin said looking at Rouge and putting a hand over her mouth in awe.

"You hear that, everybody's fawning over your pretty face, Rouge...now be a good girl and no crying." You said bringing her into your arms.

Robin and Koala came closer and looked at her. Both their faces melted.

"Rouge-chan is so cute."Robin said.

"Oooh, I know. I wanna pinch her freckled cheeks so bad." Koala squealed.

"Ha! Do not let Koala touch that child's cheeks. Trust me." said Sabo with a shudder.

She scowled and turned to him. "Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" She said.

"That you're a cheek pinching monster." He said.

"Keep saying that and I'll show you a real monster!" She told him and turned back to you. "Y/N-chan, do you want me to give you a tour of Baltigo?"

"Really? I would love that. But if I leave now, I'll probably never finish cleaning." You sighed.

"Then do you need a hand?" Robin smiled and crossed her arms and all of a sudden, two hands like flower petals appeared on one of the boxes on the floor lifting it up. You looked up startled.

"Whoa! Robin-san is that a Devil Fruit power? Wow! You're so cool!" You smiled happily. She was both pretty and cool.

"Yeah, let us help you." Koala said.

Sabo looked over at you. "That makes things easier then." He said.

"What are you still doing here? Shouldn't you be working after being missing for over a week?" Koala said to him.

"Yeah. I'm going to HQ." He said putting on his coat and his hat. "Y/N write down whatever is missing from the house and anything else that you need and I'll take you shopping tomorrow." He said.

"Shopping? Can we come too?" Asked Robin.

"Sure. Okay." He waved and left.

***  
It was very late in the afternoon when you finished working on the house. You washed your face so that you would look presentable as you went out with Koala and Robin.

You left Rouge with Nana.

Koala took the keys to Sabo's winrot, and you all got inside.

"Since we're going shopping tomorrow, I'll have to prepare for my class today. I'm afraid I can't accompany you on the tour." Said Robin.

"Class?" You asked.

"You'll see." Koala chimed. She drove around the landscape, the winrot moving faster because now in the late afternoon, the wind seemed stronger than before.

"Wow this island is really windy." You commented.

Koala smiled. "That is mostly because of Dragon-san. It's good to keep the weather here a little dark so that people don't just find the island, especially at night." She told you.

"I've been wondering, how is it that this place has never been raided?" Robin asked.

"Baltigo is uncharted and the weather leading here incredibly stormy. We use a safe route known only to the members of the Revolutionary Army, but the storms are unavoidable, even for us. It's a long process, but even the best navigator in the world would have a hard time finding this place." Koala stopped the winrot in front of a small, yellow painted house.

"We're here." She said. "As you can see this is the residential area for the members of the army. That's my house. I live there with Robin-san."

Koala's house was smaller than Sabo's. It was only about four or five houses away from where you lived.

"The two of you live together?"

As Robin prepared to exit, she smiled "Yes, Koala was kind enough to let me live with her."

"Well I couldn't let you just stay at Headquarters. It's too noisy and only overactive guys like Sabo can sleep in a place like that." Koala said cheerfully.

"Well. I'm grateful. See you tomorrow, Y/N-chan."

"See you around, Robin-san." You waved at her as she left the winrot.

Something popped into your head. "How come we didn't get caught in a storm?" You asked.

Koala smiled. "Because you had our best navigator with you."

You frowned. "You mean Sabo? He's really that great?!"

She only laughed in response.

"So he said he was taking me shopping tomorrow, is there a place like a huge mall on this island or something?" You asked her.

"No, this island is very small. I mean we have buildings, we have a town but it's very small because the only people who really live here are us, executive members of the Revolutionary Army, and most of us aren't even here all that much because we have missions to go to all the time." She explained. "There are many officers who live here too, as well as soldiers and refugees at the refugee camp. This long stretch of buildings, is known as Mesland village, and the town is Mesland Market."

Koala drove on and eventually after the residential area, you reached a Mesland Market.

"This is the only town we have on the entire island." She told you.

There weren't many shops, you saw two supermarkets, a few small restaurants and some clothing shops. There were a few other places that provided the necessary services, but for you, coming from a huge merchant island, this place was really small.

After the Mesland Market, there was a fork on the road, where Koala turned the corner and there was a large building, albeit much smaller than the headquarters.

You got out of the winrot and stood by the fence.

"This is Mesland School. Sabo-kun did his learning here. I joined later than he did, so I was way behind all the others in the beginning." She told you.

As she was speaking, a group of children of mixed ages exited the building and ran to what looked to be a training ground. There was a blue haired fishman waiting for them there and as soon as they saw him, they fell in line.

"A school?" You asked astonished.

"Yeah. This is like an orphanage, school and training ground for future soldiers of the Revolutionary Army." She said. The fishman spotted her and she waved at him as he began his lesson.

"That's my friend Hack."

"Oh, I see. So, are all these children, victims of war?" You asked sadly.

"Yeah, and war criminals too. We don't force them to stay. We relocate most of the children we find along with all the other refugees."

You followed her as she started walking away from the school. "It's getting late, so I won't take you any further, but over there is the refugee camp." She pointed in the distance.

In the distance, you could see tents along with actual houses that seemed to make up a much larger residential area than Mesland village. There were plenty of people moving around over there.

"Many of our soldiers stay there, guarding the refugees. We only keep any refugees here until we find a safe place to relocate them to. Of course there are others who choose to join us instead." She explained.

"This place is even better than I imagined." You gasped at the sheer scale of it all. How may people had they helped?

"We should be going back. Come on." Koala took your hand and dragged you back to the winrot.

"That school, what kind of teachers work there?" You asked her.

"Volunteers. Mostly family members of the executive officers, and when we get the chance, we help too. Hack is in charge of the training, but I help out too." She told you as you were heading back. "Robin-san also teaches History sometimes."

"So, if it's like a home, are the nurses and cooks and the orphanage directors all volunteers? What about the refugees? I'm sure some of them have nothing to their name when they come here, does the Revolutionary Army provide for them too?" You asked curious.

Koala laughed. "You sure ask a lot of questions! Yes, it's all volunteers, donations from our supporters and money we get from bounties and stolen treasures. We'd like to do more, but it's not easy getting our hands on money and weapons without catching the attention of Cipher Pol." She said parking in front of Sabo's house.

"You guys, and Dragon-sama, really are more wonderful than I thought." You said smiling as you got out.

_♤I wish that I had ended up here after running away from home.♤_

***  
You put Rouge down on the bed. Normally you would have wanted to sing her a lullaby to sing her to sleep but you were still composing a song for specially for her. You wanted it to be perfect and show how much she meant to you. So, instead of a song, you pulled out a book from your belongings. It was old and tattered now but it was your favourite book in the world.

Looking at it now, you remembered something Ace had said when he first read it.

_♤You rushed up to your room. It was rare for you to keep Ace waiting. You were always the one watching the seas, waiting for him._

_You found him sleeping on your bed, holding up the book. He was shirtless, as always, and his hat and beaded necklace were placed lazily on the table._

_He looked up. "Oh, Y/N, is your shift over?" He asked closing the book._

_"Yeah. Sorry to make you wait." You sat on the bed kissed his cheek. You looked at the book. "Did you enjoy it? I_ _t's_ _ my favourite book in the world." You told him._

_"Really? It's a children's book." He said._

_"I know, but the World Government banned anyone from __possessing_ _it years ago because it 'spread propaganda'." You told him. "I like it because it got me through the toughest time in my life, it helped me to cope with my decision to leave home and assured me that I made the right choice."_

_"I see. Well anyway, it's a good book and it teaches some important values too I suppose." He said. "Though, I feel like _ _my_ _ brother would have liked it more than I did."_

_"Huh? From all you've said about Luffy-kun, I didn't take him for a reader." You told him thoughtfully. _

_"No. Not Luffy. Sabo would have loved it." He said. "The kind of freedom depicted in this book, would probably mirror his ideal version of freedom."_

_You looked at him. He never talked much about his late brother and right now he had a faraway look in his eye._

_He blinked and put the book down. Looking up at you, he said,_  
_"So are you planning on keeping me waiting all night? I'm leaving tomorrow you know."♤_

The book had an anonymous author and it was entitled "A Perfect World." You made a mental note to show it to Sabo to see if Ace was right.

You fed Rouge while reading aloud from the book as well. You didn't even need to have it open, you knew the words by heart.

"Once Upon a Time there existed a certain Kingdom of Ordinary People. They didn't have much, they had no power and they had very little harvest but they were happy. This was all thanks to their king...." You read away.

Sabo did not come home that night and Nana slept downstairs. Rouge was quiet all night. The silence was defeaning and you barely slept all night.

The next morning you couldn't risk drinking coffee while breastfeeding, so you ran a few laps around the house to keep yourself awake. You were leaving Rouge with Nana again while you went shopping, so you fed her first. You left enough milk to last her all day.

Robin and Koala came to get you and told you that Sabo was waiting at the harbour.

There were quite a few people there when you arrived, all waiting to get into ships and it was more packed than yesterday.

"What's going on?" You asked Koala.

"Ah, we are moving some of the refugees this week, we've found new homes for them. Oh, there's Sabo-kun." She said and you noticed him talking to some of the staff. There were a few girls giggling and watching him as you walked over and you paid them no mind.

Sabo spotted the three of you and waved. He then frowned and started walking towards you. Some of the young girls there followed his gaze and, seeing you, nudged each other and whispered among themselves. It didn't bother you, it seemed Sabo was quite popular, but even though they'd probably heard of you by now, it was the first time some of them were seeing their precious Chief of Staff's 'girlfriend'.

Sabo, still frowning, stood in front of you and placed his hand on your forehead, catching you by surprise.

"You didn't sleep well last night, did you?" He asked.

_♤He can tell.♤_

You'd learned to hide the signs of your sleep deprivation quite well over the years, so you were surprised that he noticed.

"I'm sorry, I fell asleep at HQ. I promise, I'll stay with you all night tonight." He said.

You blushed. He'd spoken so loudly that the people close to you started 'ooohing' and whistling.

He only realised it then. "Ah... I didn't mean-"

"Forget it, the damage is done." You said. "Let's go."

You hid behind him so people wouldn't see your face. Koala for some reason, found the entire situation extremely hilarious. She kept laughing all the way to the ship. Robin merely chuckled.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just made this note because I don't know if you understand my description of a winrot. Basically, it's like a mix between a convertible with a glass roof and a wind powered vehicle (rotor-powered). If I could, I'd draw it for you, but unfortunately I am talentless in that regard.
> 
> I really love the idea of wind powered transportation and every island in One Piece seems to have its own special type of transport, so I thought this would be cool for a windy island. Sorry, my physics obsession is showing.


	6. Purpose

You were able to avoid getting caught up in a storm again as you left Baltigo thanks to Sabo's exceptional navigation skills. The sea was black in its entirety and the waves were crazy huge. You could tell it was nothing short of a miracle to be able to get out of there without a scratch on you or the ship.

"This storm is bad. I wonder if the ships carrying the refugees will be safe." Sabo said once you reached your destination.

"Yeah they will, because their navigators will take the safe route!" Koala said smacking him on the head.

"I took a shortcut! I'm sure you ladies will take forever shopping. I don't want to be here all day." He said.

You all docked the ship and went into the city. It was a big city, quite busy with lots of people there.

Sabo had looked over your list on the way here. You bit your lip, hoping it would not cost him too much. After all, it's not like you and Rouge were actually his wife and child.

The mall was huge, with all kinds of shops in there. You were sure that you would be able to get all your supplies here.

"Wow, this is a good place for shopping, right Y/N? I'm sure we'll be able to get all that we need from here." Robin said smiling.

"Yeah!" You smiled happily.

"What time are you meeting Han?" Koala asked Sabo.

"In an hour. But you can shop to your heart's content. I'm leaving Y/N in your hands. If anything happens to her-"

"Don't worry Sabo, we won't let her get her get kidnapped and killed by being sliced into little pieces." Robin said.

"Huh? How could that possibly happen?" You shivered at the thought of it. "Sabo, aren't you coming with us?"

"I'd be more of a hindrance than anything." He said honestly. "Besides, I'm sure there are some things you'd be more comfortable buying with them."

"That's right. This is a girls day out. You have a baby transponder snail right? We'll call you when we need you to carry the heavy stuff." Koala said.

"Ugh, fine. Listen, Koala, I'm sure that Y/N didn't put everything she needs on the list, so make sure you buy her everything okay?" He tossed her a bag filled with money. "Spare no expense, it was from that pirate that we caught."

You spent the day with the two women, who were incredibly nice to you and made you feel quite at ease. They were pretty helpful in choosing things for Rouge, like a pram, a cot, blankets among other things. You also managed to buy yourself some good clothes for nursing mothers.

After buying your nursing bras and Nana's medicine, you went food shopping.

"Koala, what's Sabo's favourite food?" You asked.

"Sabo-kun? Why do you ask?"

"I want to cook for him. He's done so much for us." You told her and the girl smiled.

"He'll love that. His favourite food is ramen. You better make a lot though, I mean he eats like a pig." She stated.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he doesn't eat more than Ace did." You remarked.

"Hmm, I guess Luffy's brothers also eat a lot." Robin said.

When all your shopping was done, Koala called Sabo.

He asked if you had everything. After assuring him that you did, he took you all back to Baltigo. The girls helped you to put everything into the house, before they left.

"I'll just feed Rouge and then I'll make us dinner." You told Sabo.

"Oh, you can cook?" He asked.

"Of course. I used to work in a restaurant you know." You told him.

You began to cook the ramen noodles, drained and set them aside. Then you cooked the potstickers and set them aside. After steaming the eggs to a soft boil, you added consomme, broth, water, garlic, ginger, soy sauce and oyster sauce to the soup pan. After that was done, you added the noodles to the soup and heated through.

After pouring broth over the top of the noodles, you added the potstickers, sliced rotisserie chicken and soft cooked eggs to the soup and then you served.

"Oh, it's ramen!" Sabo exclaimed excitedly.

"I heard you like it. I wanted to thank you for everything, so enjoy the food."

"Thanks for the food." He said and dug in. You were going to ask him if he liked it, but there was no need. His face said it all. You swore there were sparkles coming from his eyes.

You and Nana watched in fascination as he finished his fifteenth bowl. The way he ate it, like that, made you smile. You were wrong, he did eat as much as Ace used to.

"That was the best ramen I've had in a while." He smiled.

After you cleared the table, and were ready to go to sleep, Nana knelt down on the floor and bowed her head. "Thank you Sabo-san, for doing this for her. We are very grateful to you." she said.

Sabo was alarmed and tried to force her to stand up. "Please don't do this, not for me. I told you why I'm helping you. It's nothing really."

He wanted to make her stand up, but you stopped him. "It's okay. Let her show gratitude." You said.

Sabo relented. "You can go now. Goodnight Nana." As she was done, Nana retired to bed.

"Why would you let her do that, she's your grandmother. You shouldn't let her-" Sabo said to you.

"Of course, I think of Nana that way, but she and I are not related by blood. She was my mother's nursemaid, so when my mum got married she went with her." You told him. "And after my mum died, she's the one who raised me. It doesn't matter to me, but Nana wants to be treated like my nursemaid. Even if I wanted to bow and show my gratitude to you, she wouldn't let me do this so she's doing it for me." You sighed. "I've learnt to just let her be when she gets like this."

"Oh, that's how it is." Sabo said understanding the situation.

"I'll go put Rouge to sleep." You said carrying the infant out of the room.

Later, "Is she asleep?" Sabo whispered from the door. "You stopped singing to her, so I assume she must be."

"Yeah." You said as you lay awake on the bed. "Sorry was I loud?"

"Not at all. I like your voice, it's soft and calming." He said. "I'll wait here until you fall asleep, okay."

"You can sit on the chair next to the bed. It's better than just standing there." You told him.

He turned off the lights and sat down.

"I'm sorry to be such a burden." You muttered.

"You're not a burden, but I'm going on a mission in two days, and I will only be back in a week. Perhaps you should ask Nana to sleep up here with you." He said.

"She won't spoil me like that. She thinks it's stupid that a girl my age can't sleep by herself." You told him. "I'm like this because my mother died while sleeping next to me." You explained quietly.

It was dark, but you could feel him looking at you. "You don't have to tell me."

"I was four years old, and all I remember is the silence of the night. I tried waking her up, but she stayed still. She was so quiet." You said. "Ever since then, I've had trouble sleeping if it's too quiet. I'm ridiculous, right?"

"No. We all have fears that our childhood traumas left in us. Sometimes we can handle them, sometimes we need help from others." He said in the darkness.

"Yeah. Now that I have Rouge, I often wonder what it feels to die leaving a helpless child behind alone. What possible thoughts run through a dying parent's mind..." You trailed off.

"Y/N, I'm sure Ace trusted that you would be able to raise the child, even without him there. I'm sure he-" Sabo tried to reassure me.

"Ace didn't know that I was pregnant." You said quietly.

"What?" Even in the dark, you could feel Sabo's shock.

"I was afraid to tell him. Ace never wanted kids, he didn't want to pass on his father's blood." You said. "The last time I saw him face to face, was almost four months ago, I was four months pregnant then, so I wasn't really showing that much." Your tears were already starting to fall.

_♤Ace.♤_

"I wonder, if I'd told him, would he have fought harder to live, knowing he had a child on the way? Or...or would it only have burdened him to leave us behind at his last moments?" You were full on crying now. "Ace! My Ace!"

Sabo moved from the chair and came to sit at the head of the bed. You didn't know why he did it, but you held on to his coat, crying into the warmth of it, until you cried yourself to sleep.

The next day, when you woke up, Sabo was gone, but his coat was still there on your bed.  
You found him in the kitchen.

"Sorry about last night." You mumbled.

"It's okay to miss him. And it's okay if it makes you sad." He told you. "Anyway, I'm worried about you, here take this." He handed over a transponder snail to you.

The snail had a burn scar over one of its eyes like Sabo did and was wearing a tiny blue top hat too.

You looked up at him.

"Keep it in your bedroom. It kinda looks like me, so you can put it on your chest of drawers and I'll call you whenever I can so you may be able to sleep better." He paused. "You can just think of it as me."

This was such a sweet gesture, you didn't even know what to say.

"No you go and do your work, don't worry about me. I'll put on some music or something..." You said hesitantly.

"Don't be sorry. I'm not saying I'm going to call you every night, but I'll call whenever I get a chance. Just put it there okay?"

Why was he so kind to you? You had done nothing in return for all the good he had done for you. You knew that he would keep insisting, so you took the snail.

"Then I'll be waiting for your call." You smiled. He liked this answer. He put a hand on your shoulder.

"I'll see you when I get back."

"Sabo." You called as he was getting out through the door. "Stay safe okay? Maybe I'm being selfish but you're the only one that Rouge and I have."

He looked over his shoulder at you. "Don't worry. I have a reason to come back alive. I'll be back soon."

The week went by quickly, and Sabo called you every night.

***

You found your self settling well into the Baltigo culture. You could see the sea a short distance from the house. It was always raging, making waves and you longed to bathe in it. Finally, one day after Sabo returned, you took some towels and went out there.

"Where are you going?" Sabo asked looking at some maps in the living room.

"For a walk by the sea. The weather's good today. Do you want to take a break?" You asked.

"Maybe next time. I have to take my clothes to the laundromat after this. I'm leaving again soon." He said.

"That's stupid. Mesland Market is quite a distance from here. Give me your laundry. I'll do it for you tomorrow when I do mine and Rouge's." You told him.

"Oh, no, there's no need for you to go out of your way-"

"Hey I'm quite famous in these parts, I don't want people thinking that I don't take care of you." You smiled. "The truth is, I've been feeling quite useless lately, so please let me do little things for you, like doing your laundry or cooking for you."

He hesitated. "If you really want to, I suppose."

"Good. Now come on. Let's go for that walk before Rouge wakes up." You grabbed his hand taking him with you. He sighed and chose not to resist.

"This island is very peaceful. I feel that I can relax and take good care of Nana here." You said sitting by the seashore.

"Take care of her?"

You turned to him. "Ah, Nana has a chronic disease. It's been getting worse with age. The whole reason why Ace moved me from Issaquah Island to Firo was because she'd had two heart attacks in less than a year." You sighed. "I was supposed to take care of her, but in the end, like always, she ended up taking care of me."

"Oh. I see. So you want to return the favour then." He said sharply. "I'll be glad to help any way that I can too."

"You've done plenty." You stood up. "It's a bit sunny today isn't it?The water's calling me. I need to jump into the sea."

"What? Isn't that dangerous?Aren't you scared of the water? I thought you were a Devil Fruit eater." Sabo said.

"I'm the opposite of a Devil Fruit eater. Water makes me stronger. Watch."

You took off your shirt, Sabo's eyes widened, you were wearing a nursing camisole, so it was fine. You threw yourself into the water and immediately, felt it move around you, nothing compared to the sea after all.

"Come closer!" You shouted.

You wondered what his reaction would be. You had kept this side of you hidden back in Issaquah Island for fear of the pirates selling you to slave traders. Ace knew, he'd first met you in this form anyway. Here, it was different though. You knew that all races, and all classes were welcome in this place, the kind of place you'd dreamt about your whole life.

Sabo came closer, looking at you in the water. His first thought was that you seemed to glow, a beautiful radiance in the sea. Was it because you were smiling brighter than any time he'd ever seen you? As he watched, you leapt out from the water, put on incredible spinning dolphin dance display in the air before diving back into the water. You had a red tail with light fins, and your hair seemed to flow with the water.

You giggled when you got out of the water, seeing Sabo's awed expression.

"I guess mermaids _ar_e every boy's fantasy. Even a jaded single mom like me." You teased him.

"Huh...no...I...you looked..." He cleared his throat. "You're not the first mermaid I've ever seen or anything...Wait! How come you have legs?"

"My father was a sea bream fishman. I guess there must have been merfolk in his ancestry. But my mom was a human." You wrapped a towel around yourself. "I'm the result, half human, half sea bream mermaid. It's curious, but I don't have conscious control over it. I only transform when I'm in water, but on land, I can pass for a human easily with these legs, even with the few scales I have on my back."

"It must have been hard for you, growing up." He said gently.

It was definitely not easy, you thought as your mother popped into your head.

_♤"Sunset, sunset, little bit of sunshine,_  
_By the sea, by the sea, waiting for the future_  
_Pretty smile, Pretty smile, the song in my heart_  
_Heart beat, heart beat, filled with sunshine_  
_Lot of love, lot of love, crying for the future_  
_Happy, happy, you complete the song in my heart..." _

_Your mother and four year old you sang Nana's song as she gave you a bath._

  
_"Such a beautiful voice. And you look just like your father in the water too." Your mother said with a weak smile._

_"Father-sama has a tail too?" You asked her._

_"No. Listen, Y/N-chan, don't go near water with anyone else in this place. Don't tell anyone about your pretty tail, okay. Hide it from everyone else. No one, but Mama and Nana can know about it, okay?" She told you in a stern whisper._

_You bit your lip. "This tail, is it a bad thing to have?"_

_"No. Never." She said with tears in her eyes. "Hide it, but never be ashamed of it! Do you understand? No matter what anyone says, you are precious. Those who discriminate are the wrong ones." It pained her to have to say such words to her only daughter, a four year old._

_"But it always makes you happy to put me in the water like this, Mama. You're always sad, so I won't hide it because it makes you happy! Being in water makes me happy because it makes Mama happy too." You smiled._

_"That's because you look like him when you're like this." She sobbed. "If your father or your brothers find out about this, we're both dead. So, I want you to tell everyone that you're scared of water, run from the sea! Wear clothes that cover the scales on your back! Hide your true self until you're free of this place." She said. "Hide your body, but don't ever suppress your feelings, not for anyone."_

_"Mama, don't cry." You said sadly. Your mother was always so sad, you just wanted her to smile._

_"Promise me you'll do as I say."_

_"I promise, Mama." You said, and that rarely seen, weak smile beautified her sad face as she hugged you._

_That was how you always lived your life.♤_

"You have no idea." You said as looked up from your memories. "But Nana helped me to get away from it all, and even though we got separated for a while, I'm good now."

"I'm glad." Sabo smiled. "You looked really happy in the water, and like I said before, happiness looks great on you. Come on inside. You don't want to catch a cold."

Sabo left for another mission a little while later, this one took three weeks. When he returned, he was drenched in water, his clothes torn up and missing his hat.

"Sabo, are you okay? What happened?" You asked in concern.

"I'm just here to get some extra medical supplies." He said. "There was a bad storm earlier and one of our refugee ships got shipwrecked. Luckily my ship found them in time. We've saved most of them but some may still be in the water." He said. "I'll be going back to help Hack as soon as I can."

"Are there a lot of injured people? You need nurses then, don't you? I will come to help." Nana said.

"Thank you Nana. Then, Y/N, you can stay here and I'll be back as soon as we save everyone from the water." He said taking a box of medical supplies from the storeroom with him.

"I'll come and help too. I'm a mermaid remember? If there are people still in the water, I can save them." You said.

He hesitated. "Okay, let's go."

"It's too slow on land. I'll meet you there at the port." You ran to the sea and jumped into the water. You sang a high pitched call underwater and the fish heard your orders. You sent out a sonic wave controlling them to lead you to where any humans still alive from the shipwreck were.

You swam over to find a woman and a child no more than fourteen sinking. You also saw a man who was drowning down there too. In your human form, you couldn't have hoped to save all of them. But in water, carrying all three and swimming up to the shore was easy.

You leapt out of the water and landed on a ship on your legs, surprising everyone who was already there. There were nurses running around the ship and a lot of patients lying down getting treatment. You almost collapsed from the weight of your patients.

"Y/N!" Koala said in surprise relieving you of the burdens.

"There's still a two more people down there, I have to go b-" But as you were talking, Hack surfaced from the water carrying two more victims.

"I think this is the last of them. I'll do one final check in the water." He said as the nurses took them.

"I'm coming too!" You said following him. He was surprised when he saw your tail in the water but said nothing. Both of you searched for a while, but found no more people. When you emerged, Nana, Rouge and Sabo were there too now.

"Thanks a lot, Y/N." Sabo said giving you Rouge.

"No problem." You looked around. Most of the people were awake now, many of them hurt, but not too seriously. Nana was busy helping treat everyone. "Everyone seems okay."

"Ah. Dragon-san lowered the water level so we able to save a lot of people." He said.

"You all just got here, and had to do all this work. You must all be hungry." You said holding the sleeping baby.

"Ah, Missred and Dinah are preparing food for everyone over at HQ. They'll be done soon." Koala said.

"Well, my work here is done. I'll go help them. I can put Rouge down to sleep there too." You said and you left for the Headquarters.

Missred was the cook who was always cooking for the people who lived inside Headquarters like Dragon-sama and those who worked in the situation room. You had already met her before with Sabo.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" You asked as you entered the kitchen. Missred was there along with a young lady and a teenage girl.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. "This ain't a nursery, take that baby somewhere else. I don't want to be chewed out by Sabo when his kid gets burned." She barked. She was always angry about something.

The other two looked up. "Sabo? Oh, is this the chief's lady? And his daughter?" The older of the two beamed at you looking away from the pot of rice she was cooking. "Awww they're both so kwwuute!"

"Th-Thank you?" You said. "I'm Y/N."

"My name is Dinah. Are you here to help us cook for the boys?" She said. You nodded. "We're making onigiri for them, can you do it?"

"Of course. As soon as I put Rouge to sleep."

"Maya! Look after the baby while Y/N helps us cook." She said to the teenage girl who stood up and held out her hands for Rouge. You hesitated. Maya looked at you quizzically.

"She won't eat her. She'll be right in the next room." Dinah told you.

Maya nodded and smiled. You wondered why she didn't say anything, but she looked honest so you handed the sleeping child to her and she went to the next room.

"She's mute. One of my wards from Mesland School. Can't really fight, so she's trying to learn how to cook." Dinah said to you.

"Oh I see." You said. "You work at Mesland School?"

"Yeah, there are only two cooks there, so for me to be here at HQ, means it's a huge deal." She said.

"But that school is so big! How do you manage with just two of you?"

"We make it work. It's not ideal but-"

"Are we here to discuss our lives or to make food for those hungry soldiers outside?" Missred shouted at you.

"Yes ma'am!" Both of you said hastily and began working.

"Oh you're really good at that!" Dinah said watching you work.

An idea popped into your head. Ever since you had arrived here, you had felt the need for a purpose, something you could do to help.

"Dinah, if possible, can I come and help with the cooking at Mesland School?" You asked.

Dinah's eyes widened. "Are you serious? That's great, of course we'd love to have you! Awww, you're soooo nice!" She was getting excited again.

After you were done, you carried the dishes outside to the ships where everyone was waiting. The soldiers seemed really happy to be served good food by two beautiful women. The food was enough for the soldiers, nurses and the patients who were awake.

You took a few riceballs to Dragon-sama who was sitting alone inside the ship, reading something.

"Dragon-sama, I brought you some food. I'm sure you must be hungry." You said.

"Oh. Thank you, Y/N." He accepted it. "You saved some of our people today and now you're feeding us. I'm grateful."

You smiled. "I only helped a few people. Most of them were saved thanks to you sir."

"You seem more lively than you were when you first arrived. I'm glad that you like it here." He observed.

"Sabo and the others have been very kind to me. I'm quite grateful. I'll leave you to your work now." You bowed before leaving.

You had saved some food for Sabo since he and Hack had gone to salvage what they could of the ship.

Sabo was back when you returned, checking on his men who were busy eating.

"I saved some food for you." You said to him.

"Oh. Thank you, I am very hungry right now." He sat down. Some of the people watched you. You handed him the plate. "Oh, I was salvaging the ship, so my hands are so dirty right now. I better wash them first." He said.

You sighed as his stomach growled. "Sit down I'll feed you."  
You thought nothing of it as you fed him until someone whistled.

"Y/N-chan feed me too, come on!" One of the soldiers said. The others started laughing.

Sabo threw his glove at the offender. "If you want a woman to feed you, get your own!" He said.

The other men groaned.

"I'm glad I'm your tool for envy among men. Are you having fun?" You lightly punched Sabo's shoulder.

"Hey, you're the one who fed me. You started it." He grinned.

He really was having fun.


	7. Songs of Time

All of you slept at Headquarters that night since it was late. When morning came, you went to search for Sabo so that he would take you home on the winrot.

You found him on the boat, having an intense conversation with the boy that you had saved from drowning.

You searched for their voices, but something was off with the rhythm of his emotions. You didn't say anything and watched them for a while. Sabo said something to make him smile, then he ruffled his hair.

You left them be for a while, and found Nana asleep inside the winrot. She got tired easily these days, and slept a lot.

"Are you ready to go?" Sabo asked, arriving.

"Yeah." You said getting inside and holding Rouge in your arms as you sat.

"I'm thinking of volunteering as a cook at Mesland School. Is that alright?" You asked.

"You don't need my permission, Y/N." He told you. "Go for it, if it's what you want to do. You're pretty good, so I'm sure they'll be glad for the help."

"Thanks."

Sabo was silent as he drove, and his emotions were unclear.

"That boy. He lost his memories, didn't he?" You asked quietly.

Sabo was silent for a moment. "Yeah. How could you tell?"

"I have the ability to hear people's inner voices. I was born with it. It's more intense in water. On land, I can mostly block out the voices by constantly having a song running in my mind. I can still feel their emotions if I try though. His felt cloudy." You explained.

He turned to look at you. "That's a pretty amazing colour of observation." He said. "Is that why you're always humming? To drown out other people's thoughts from your head?"

"Colour of observation, that's what Ace called it too. And yes, I have a song that I'm constantly singing in my head. A song that Mama and Nana taught me as a child. It's called 'Sunshine'." You said.

"That can't be easy. You know, if you train your Observation Haki, you would be able to control it better."

"I don't mind it. It just takes a lot for me to be able to open up my mind like that." You told him. "But is that kid gonna be okay?"

He tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "It won't be easy, but he'll survive. I did." He said. "By the way, that kid doesn't remember his name, when I asked what he wanted to be called, he said he wanted the pretty mermaid who saved him to name him."

You smiled and it took a moment for his meaning to sink in. "Wait, are you saying that you also lost your memories?"

"Yeah. After the incident that happened to me, the only thing I had was my name." He said quietly. "I didn't get them back until I saw... until after Marineford."

You had wondered, but never asked him why he never contacted Ace. If this was it, how awful must it have been for him to remember his brother after he was dead? Tears started to well up in your eyes.

"Sabo..."

"We're here." He stopped the winrot, and got out.

"Sabo." You said trying to follow him.

"Don't cry for me. I'm fine now." He stopped, and wiped your tears with his hand. A sad smile came over his face. "I don't really want to talk about it."

You left him be, and woke Nana up. Still your heart cried for his pain.

The next day, Dinah introduced you to the people working at Mesland School, there were many children, each at a different age group. There were over a hundred of them there.

Dinah put you in charge of cooking for the oldest ones, the 13 to 16 year olds. The children, if you could call them that given the small difference in your ages, became actual soldiers and joined the army at 17.

Their teacher, Mr. Dinazer, introduced you to them just before lunch.

Maya waved when she saw you, holding out her hands questioningly at you.

"Rouge? She's with Nana at home." You said and she looked disappointed.

"Miss Mermaid, it's you." The boy from the other day said. "Did you think up a name for me?" He was a little reserved, but he seemed calm for someone in such a predicament.

"Call me Y/N-san." I smiled at him. "Why do you want me to name you?"

"Because you saved me, Y/N-san." He said.

"Well, we met in the water, so, how about Kai? It means the sea, in the kingdom where I was born." You said. His face lit up.

"I love it. From now on, my name is Kai." He said to the class.

"Y/N-san, is it true that you're a mermaid?" One of the boys asked.

"Yes it is." You wondered how they found out.

"Show us your mermaid form, come on!" Another one said.

There was no way in hell you were going to transform to satisfy a room filled with hormonal teenage boys.

You smiled, "I'll ask Sabo if it's okay." You teased them. The girls laughed, and the boys groaned. "Come on then, lunch time." You said.

As the weeks turned into months, you began to fit in more at Mesland School. You were not smart enough to be a teacher, but the children loved your food. Volunteering there became less of a hobby and more of a fixture in your life. As you watched those children, struggling to move on, trying to be cheerful and learning to stand on their own in spite of the horrors that they had been through so early in their lives, it gave you something to look forward to.

You were popular with the boys, but you didn't mind it, they were lovable. You watched Kai closely and watched as he began to make friends and fit into the culture at Mesland School. He was surprisingly keeping well up to speed with training with those who had been here before him. Perhaps he'd had some training before his country went into war. He was particularly good with a sword, surpussing even some of the executives. A couple of times he offered to teach you how to use your water sword, but you never got around to it.

Cooking was a hobby that you had picked up at Issaqua Lounge, sometimes the pirates would fill the lounge so much that there was hardly any space to move at all. In those times, you would help out in the kitchen as well. There were certain dishes that you were excellent at, like spicy foods because Ace loved them, and cherry pies because Teach ordered them everytime he came to Issaquah Lounge.

Whenever Sabo was home, the four of you ate together as a family and he slept at the house. Most of the nights he would sit with you and talk about the different places he had been to until you fell asleep. Your dream of finding a real family felt like it was slowly shaping into reality.

***

_♤Ace removed one of the beads from his necklace, and resealed it using his fire._

_"Here." He said handing the bead over to you._

_You took it with a puzzled look on your face, as the boat rocked in the sea, the warm glow of the sunset filling the both of you._

_"Ace, what does this mean?"_

_He looked away from you, his dark hair dancing in the wind. "I am a pirate. This is the life I chose, so I don't mind losing my life for it. Do you understand?"_

_You blinked. "I already know that."_

_"My life was forfeit the moment I decided to set out to sea. I can die in a fight to protect Pops or my friends, I can be caught by the Marines and executed... hell, I can fall into the sea and drown. That's a fate that I've accepted." He said._

_You didn't respond. He was clearly trying to tell you something._

_He looked at the red bead in your hands. "Thatch's death helped me to realise something. Loss is a terrible thing. For someone with that kind of life, I can't make you any promises. This is the closest thing to commitment that you'll ever get from me."_

_You had been together for almost a year, and this was the first time he'd ever spoken like this._

_"This isn't like you, Ace. If you have something to say, just-" You began, and he turned his eyes to you._

_"I love you."_

_Your heart stopped. You had not expected him to say that at all. The warmth of his words, the sincerity of them, overwhelmed your heart. "A-Ace..."_

_"You already told me how you feel, but, I know you don't say it as often as you want because you are afraid that I'll withdraw or distance myself." He took your hand in his._

_"I've known how I felt too for a while now, but, I held back on saying it, because I thought that if I said those words to you, I'd be making you some kind of promise." He breathed. "I don't want to make promises that I can't keep."_

_You smiled. Why was he so sweet?_

_"That's why if, no when, something happens to me-"_

_"Ace-"_

_"You're such a crybaby and you can't hide your feelings... so promise me that you'll cry, maybe for just a couple of weeks for me. But then you'll be fine." Ace said._

_"You tell me you love me, but you won't let me get too attached to you?" You said bitterly._

_"I'm walking on a dangerous road, it's selfish, but I don't want to worry about you." He put his hand on your cheek. "I want the song in your heart to keep playing, even when I'm not here."_

_You could tell he was serious about it._

_"Then I'll return this. If you give me gifts, I'll start to want more from you." You said. "I'll make you that promise, you selfish bastard. Just don't give me any gifts. I'll just remember you from memory." You said sadly shoving the bead into his chest._

_"You're the one who chose to fall in love with this selfish bastard." He wrapped his arms around you, as if to appease you, and kissed you. "I won't give you any gifts."♤_

"Ironically, that's the night that he gave me you." You said to the baby in the cradle. "It has been a year since then. But because you were born prematurely, you're already so big."

_♤You were really an idiot Ace. Did you really think that a few weeks would be enough to wash you out of my heart? Selfish bastard.♤_

You smiled. It had been four months since your arrival to Baltigo, and still, he was etched in your heart. You didn't cry anymore though.

🎵"Sweet melody, Rouge  
My heart, my hope  
A song that keeps playing, a heart that keeps beating  
Fighting through the pain, with you by my side  
I know I can make it through  
My sweet melody Rouge  
My heart, my hope  
The friends we've made  
The family we've found  
A saviour guarding us, with him watching over us,  
I know I can make it through  
My sweet melody, Rouge  
My heart, my hope."🎵

You sang the song to her until she fell sleep to you rocking her cradle. You looked over at the transponder snail next to your bed.

"No calls today either, eh, Sa-chan."

***  
During break time at Mesland School, you were carrying the water sword, Mizumaru, that Sabo had given to you, on your waist out of habit.

"Oh, I didn't know you were a swordsman, Y/N." Robin said.

"I'm not. I just like it because it is pretty." You confessed. "Although I admit it would be cool if I could use it. Kai offered to teach me. I know the sword can create mist and slicing water and stuff."

Robin took the sword from it's sheath and swung it in a diagonal slash. "I think Zoro does it like this." A few drops of water trickled along the sword.

"Really? Let me try!" You repeated the motion and to your surprise, a small wave of water was expelled from the sword, cutting a nearby small wooden shed, causing it to collapse.

You both gasped, then Robin said thoughtfully. "I hope there weren't any children playing in the shed that got crushed into a bloody pulp by the impact."

You shivered a little. "Robin-san, you say the strangest things."

"Robin! Y/N!" A squeal caught your attention. Koala came running up to you, panting.

"I... we... there's..."

You placed your hand on her back, "Koala-chan, breathe." You said. She caught her breath.

"I just got a call from Sabo-kun! Robin-san, they found a Poneglyph!" She said excitedly.

Robin's eyes widened. "Where?"

"In the North Blue. I have to go and deliver some more weapons to them tomorrow, but Dragon-san said that if you want to come with me, you can." She said.

"Of course she does. Right Robin-san?" You squealed along with Koala. Robin smiled and nodded happily.

"The North Blue must be pretty cold at this time of the year." You said thoughtfully. "I'll send a few more coats for Sabo with you."

"Tsk. Tsk. He can take the cold. You're spoiling him, Y/N." Koala shook her head in mock disapproval.

"Am I?" You laughed.

The moments that you spent with these girls were priceless. You were born an only girl, so you wondered if this was what it would have been like to have sisters.

***

Ring, ring, ring, ring. Gotcha.

"Sabo."

"Y/N, still awake?" His voice was quiet, but his background seemed to be quite busy.

"Hmm. I just sang Rouge to sleep." You told him.

"She's a lucky child." He sounded tired as well.

"How so?"

"You wrote a song especially for her and you sing it to her in that lovely voice every night." He said.

"Oww, you want me to compose one for you?" You laughed.

"Tch. Not if I have to ask for it."  
You thought it sounded like he was smiling.

There was a slight pause, "Robin and Koala arrived yesterday. Thanks for the coats. It's actually starting to snow here."

"Well, next time I'll pack your clothes for you. It's a wonder you survived all this time without me." You added.

He smiled again. "You just say whatever you want, don't you?" He said. "How are things at the school?"

"I'm quite popular with the kids. I don't know why though, but helping them, is helping me too." You said. "Oh, by the way, will you be here for Christmas?"

"We're just about wrapping up here. I'll probably be home in a week or so. Hopefully, I won't have to go anywhere for the next month until after Christmas. I'd like to spend it with you and Rouge."

"I'd like that too. It is her first Christmas." You smiled. "Dinah and I are planning to make a Christmas Party for all the kids and all the volunteers. I know that it's a while away, but when we told them about it, the kids were really excited about it." You told him.

"Sounds like you're excited about it too." He yawned. "You're doing a great thing, some of them have never had anyone taking care of them like that."

"I know." You said. "I have the entire menu planned out. We'll have..." You went on about the activities and food that would be there. "If you're here then, you'll be able to see for yourself. Right, Sabo?" You concluded.

Silence. There were steady breathing sounds from the snail.

Had he fallen asleep?

"You must have been really tired. Goodnight." You said quietly.

The steady breathing was able to lull you into a slumber as well.

***

Dinah tasted the new sauce that you had made. "It's good, but it's a bit bland. That's not a problem though, those boys eat anything you put on the table." She smiled.

"That's no good. I want the Christmas Party to be perfect." You murmured.

Suddenly, the door opened, and someone rushed in. It was Tetsu, carrying Rouge in his arms.

"Tetsu? Why do you have Rouge?" You asked, surprised.

"Your grandma brought her to HQ, since it was closer than here. She said she wasn't feeling well, and then she collapsed. She's in the hospital at HQ." He explained.

"Nana had another heart attack?" You asked in shock. "Take me to her." You ordered.

She was asleep in the hospital, her eyes closed as she let out a few scattered breaths.

"How is she?" You asked the doctor, Dr. Mansfield.

"Her congestive heart failure is getting worse." He said.

"But, she takes all her medication. I make sure that she doesn't overexert herself...so why?" You asked, starting to cry. Nana was your family, you did not want to lose her.

"She's had heart attacks before hasn't she?" The doctor asked. "Her heart muscle is severely weakened. That coupled with old age...medication can only do so much." He explained.

You stayed with her all night. Dinah and Maya stayed with Rouge.

"Go home." She whispered on the third night. "I'm fine by myself."

"I'm not going anywhere... I'm staying right here." You told her.

"You're just as stubborn as Turia-sama." She murmured and fell back to sleep. It made you smile a little, being compared to your mother.

When you woke up the next morning, Sabo was back.

He hugged you when you awoke. "I'm sorry I wasn't here when it happened." He said.

"You're here now." You said, crying into his chest. "I was so scared, I thought maybe she was going to..." You held on to him tightly. "I can't lose her. I can't." You whispered.

"I'll take care of Rouge tonight. You stay with her, okay?" He said.

You nodded.

That night you got into the bed with Nana, like you used to when you were young, after your mother's death.

You put your arms around her, and your head on her shoulder.

"Honestly, get off. Go take care of your daughter." She protested as you held on to her.

"Sabo's with her." You said. "Tonight I'm sleeping with my grandma."

"I'm not your grandmother." She reminded you.

"Mum's parents were jerks. You were more like a mother to her. You are my grandma." You whispered.

She sighed and stopped trying to shake you off.

"Nana, don't leave me. Don't die." You asked her.

"Death comes for all of us. I don't have long left. You should come to terms with it." She told you.

But you didn't want to hear it.  
"Sunset, sunset, little bit of sunshine.." You started to sing softly.

"By the sea, by the sea, waiting for the future..." She sang along.

Together you sang:

🎵"Pretty smile, Pretty smile, the song in my heart  
Heart beat, heart beat, filled with sunshine  
Lot of love, lot of love, crying for the future  
Happy, happy, you complete the song in my heart...🎵"

You repeated the song until she fell asleep.

Nana stayed in hospital for the first few weeks of December. She returned home later in the month. She was getting better, and to keep yourself from worrying, you concentrated on the upcoming Christmas Party.

"Slow down! Did you use to fight for food or something?" You asked Sabo as he was eating one of the recipes you were trying for the party.

"Living with Ace and Luffy, if you were slow to eat, you'd have nothing to eat. It became a habit I guess...even when I had no idea where I got it from." He smiled fondly.

"Old man Garp really did a number on you boys, didn't he?" You smiled as Sabo gobbled up his food quickly and in as large quantities as Ace did. You half expected him to fall asleep face first in the middle of his food too.

"Oh, yeah, food is the first thing you have to think about before a journey. You can't go into battle without a full stomach." He said eating away.

He ate it so well, taking in everything with a delighted look on his face. It made you want to cook more for him.

Sabo was there all month, although he spent a lot of time at Headquarters, it was nice having him in the house. As you were busy planning the party, he got to look after Rouge almost every day. The two of them were adorable together.

"You're sure you don't want to come to the party?" You asked him as you prepared to leave on Christmas eve.

"Go ahead. I'll stay here and play with Rouge, I'll watch Nana too, so you can stay as long as you want." He assured you.

"The two of you have been spending a lot of time together. I'm starting to think that she's forgotten my face." You said jealously watching as Sabo lifted her up into the air, and she laughed.

"What can I say, I'm more fun to be around." He gloated.

You laughed. "Well, I'm off. You two enjoy your father-daughter bonding time."

You froze, so did he. You always said that in front of other people, so it had become normal for you. However, you had never referred to him that way when you were alone. But still, he protected her, cared for her and provided for her...just as a father should. So, you didn't take back that statement.

When you didn't correct yourself, Sabo smiled broadly. "Yeah. We will."

You smiled back, and left taking the winrot with you to Mesland School.

The party itself was packed, all the volunteers and students were there. There was no shortage of food, infact you even had left overs. The children had a lot of fun, playing games, dancing and eating.

You sang "Deck the halls." for everyone and Koala joined in, singing with you. Everyone started singing as well, ending the night on a high note.

After putting the kids to bed, Dinah brought out some alcohol for the grownups and you drank a little bit too much.

Staggering, you left the party, attempting to walk home, but you only managed to walk a few steps before falling on your face. You felt too lazy to get up.

"You shouldn't sleep here. You'll catch a cold." A familiar voice said and you opened up you eyes to see Sabo holding out his hand.

"Sssaaaaaaabo..." You tried to say, taking his hand.

"You really are drunk." He said amused, as you struggled to stand straight.

"I'm not drunk. If I was drunk, I'd be talking a lot. Do I seem like I'm talking a lot? Nooope! So there. I'm not drunk at all." You told him. He laughed.

"Let's go home. We'll walk by the seaside so you can walk off the alcohol." He said.

"I love the sea!" You shouted and ran up, walking ahead of him. "Wait. What are you doing here? Oh where's Rouge?"

"She's asleep, do you know what time it is?" He shook his head. "And Robin called, she told me to come and get you because you were drunk."

"Robin-san is awesooome!" You sang lifting your hands into the air. "Oh, Sabo, you've never seen me dance have you? Check this out, this was one of my popular requests at Issaquah Lounge."

Sabo watched you trying to move in coordination, but tripping over your feet. It was the first time he'd seen you so light hearted. He laughed, catching you before you fell.

You looked up into his eyes, his curly hair nearly obscuring the scar over the left eye. You wanted to touch it.

"Your eyes are so..." You started.

"So what?"

_♤So blue, like the ocean that I love so much.♤_

"...they are so..." Your face flushed...from the alcohol. "..big!" That was the first thing that came to your mind.

Sabo laughed as he steadied you on your feet. "That's right. They are."

You ran up again, fanning your face despite the wind. "Well, I like them." You said. "Hurry up Sa-chan!"

"Chan? How old do you think I am?" He asked incredulously.

You giggled. "That's what I call the transponder snail you gave me. 'Cause he looks like you! Sometimes Sa-chan is stingy with his calls... It makes me sad."

"I'm sorry." He said.

"It's fine! Oh I can see our house. I wonder if Rouge is hungry." You started to run again.

"You can't feed her tonight." He reminded you.

"Oh that's right. Poor Rouge. She has to drink from bottles all day tomorrow because her stupid mom wanted to drink some alcohol." You sighed.

"I don't think she minds." Sabo said opening the door for you.

You looked into Rouge's cot, then collapsed on your bed.

"Goodnight, Sa-chan." You mumbled.

"Me or the snail?" He asked.

Your drunk mind couldn't think clearly. "Both of you.." You fell asleep.

***

"Morning." Sabo grinned, his voice sounded extremely loud.

"You hate me, don't you." You said covering your ears.

"You were quite lively last night." He commented handing you coffee.

Your head was killing you.  
"I bet I said some pretty stupid stuff." You sighed. "I talk a lot when I'm drunk."

"I like drunk you. You should bring her out more often." He told you.

"No alcohol for me, ever again." You yawned.

You were so hungover that Sabo let you sleep in, much to Nana's disapproval.

The four of you had lunch by the sea that Christmas day. Baltigo was white and windy as always, but there was no snow. The weather rarely changed on this island. You ate mostly left overs from the party, but for you, this was perfect.  
You made sure Nana had food that was good for her, much to her chagrin.

After dinner, Sabo made you an interesting offer.

"I'm going to Kamabakka kingdom next week. Iva-san and I have a mission we need to complete close to there. I'll be gone for a month." He said.

You sighed. "I see."

"The thing is, they have some pretty interesting types of recipes over there. I'm sure they will have some healthy ones to help ease Nana's condition." He said. "You said that you wanted to learn to make healthier food for her, didn't you?"

You looked up. "You want me to come with you?"

"Yeah. I think it's a good idea."

It was, but, "Leaving Nana alone... I don't know." You said.

He nodded. "Dr. Mansfield can take care of her, but I understand if you'd rather stay. Well, think about it. I leave in a week."

***


	8. Confession

_♤The Whitebeard Pirates only came to Issaquah Island at least once in two months to exchange their gold into money. Even then, it wasn't always guaranteed that Ace and his team would come._ _ Still you relished the moments that they were here. They were a _ _pleasant_ _ bunch, they drank a lot and they tipped pretty well._

_They were back again this week, and the handsome flame that you pinned after was also on the island. It was finally time to make your move._

_You were finishing up your shift at the bar as you poured out a drink and the pirate in front of you downed it in seconds._

_"Y/N, come with me to the New World. You can __leave__ this life behind. I can give you all kinds of gold... __You_ _won't__ have to worry about tips..." __He__ said._

_You smiled, he had always been like this, ever since you had started working at Issaquah Lounge. _

_"Teach, the night just began, how can you already be this drunk?" The fourth division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Thatch said to his friend. "Y/N, is he bothering you again?"_

_You laughed. "Oh, no. Teach-san is harmless. He's just expressing his feelings._ _ He wouldn't hurt me."_

_Teach held out the tankard _ _and_ _ you poured out more sake in there._

_"Did you reject him again?" Thatch asked looking at Teach with pity. "You should give it up, Teach. Everyone knows Y/N has fallen for Ace."_

_You sighed. "Everyone but Ace himself. I understand Teach-san's pain. My heart is also broken."_

_"Forget about Commander Ace, and come with me. Where am I going to find a woman who makes cherry pies as good as you?" Teach lamented._

_"Hmm, you only like me because of my cooking?" You said in mock hurt._

_"Why do _ _you_ _ like Ace so much, anyway?" Thatch asked._

_"Ace is awesome. I fell for him at first sight. His cheerful personality is intriguing to me. I love how he's so strong and yet so freaking clueless." You sighed dreamily. _

_"Look at that Teach. _ _That's_ _ not a girl you can sway so easily." Thatch said sympathetically._

_Teach _ _sighed_ _. "It's not fair. I met her way before he did."_

_"I have been flirting with him for six months and he still doesn't get it. I'm starting to think that I might just have to jump him. But fret not, today I will confess my feelings to him. He's so dense that he might not get _ _the_ _ meaning of the _ _song_ _ though."_

_"He's not as dense as you think." Masked Deuce who was sitting next to Thatch, spoke up._

_"What do you mean?"_

_"I mean, I'm sure feels some type of way about you. He actually pays for his food here. I don't think you get how insane that is. And he always seems excited to come to Issaquah Island."_ _ Deuce explained. _

_You looked up hopefully. "Really?"_

_"He did look at me weirdly yesterday, when I said I was thinking of different strategies to make Y/N mine." Teach pitched up._

_Thatch nodded, "That's right. And also, whenever we're here, he never misses one of your performances. For a forgetful guy like that to remember every single one of them, there's got to be something."_

_"I swear if you guys are just pulling my leg, giving me false hope, I'll hate you forever." You warned nervously looking at the doorway, you were performing soon. _

_Even for someone as dense as he was, there was no way to miss the meaning in your song._ _ You had written it especially for him. Of course, for that to happen, he had to actually hear the song._

_"Don't worry. He will definitely be here." Deuce said watching you as you fidgeted._

_"Yeah, relax Y/N. If Commander Ace rejects you, you can still come to me. I'll still take you." Teach promised._

_"Thanks for the faith, Teach-san." You sighed._  
_You checked the time. "Well I'm gonna go and get changed." You said. _

_"Good luck!" Deuce called after you._

_Your outfit was gold and black, the skirt flailing at the bottom like flames._

_The moment that you got on stage, the pirates became, if possible, even louder. Cheers, jeers, whistles caught your ears but your eyes searched the room for him. He had to be here for everything to work out._

_You saw him. Ace was standing at the back of the bar, casually looking up at the stage, leaning against the wall. _

_"Good evening everyone!" You said through the loudspeaker transponder snail. "I have a special song and dance planned for tonight!" _ _You_ _ could barely hear yourself over their cheers._

_You signalled to the band to start playing. "This song is dedicated to someone special. I hope he knows who he is." You found Ace's eyes, they were fixated on you, making you shiver._

_🎵"My golden melody _  
_A spark that shines, in the dark_  
_Fill my heart with smiles and joy_  
_Make me dance to_  
_Your flaming wind_

_My golden melody _  
_Can you hear the song that you_  
_Created as it burns my heart_  
_Let me find comfort_  
_In the shelter of __your__ arms_

_My golden melody _  
_I __can't__ hide it anymore _  
_Like the fire you are, you_  
_Melt my heart_  
_Drown my soul_

_My golden melody _  
_My feelings pour out_  
_In waves for you _  
_This is my confession _  
_My golden melody _  
_Golden melody_  
_My golden melody _

_I love you. _  
_My golden melody"🎵_

_You closed your eyes during the final dance. You were afraid to open them, to see _ _his_ _ reaction. When you were done, _ _the_ _ crowd went wild, but you couldn't hear them. You searched the entire room, but he was nowhere to be found. _

_You went backstage, everyone telling you how great you were, but you were only half listening. Why did he leave? Did _ _he_ _ not like the song? Did he not like you?_

_After you changed, you were about to run up to your room and cry yourself to sleep at the obvious rejection, when Thatch grabbed you._

_"Let go, Thatch-san." You said, your eyes watering. _

_He sighed. "He went out back. Go resolve it now."_

_You looked at him, and nodded. You ran outside, towards the back, but you didn't see Ace. Instead, you were followed by a tall man with tan skin and short, unkempt blond hair. He seemed quite drunk._

_"Bellamy-san..." You said, startled as he came closer to you. You backed up. _

_He grinned sticking out his tongue at you. "You sang that song for me, didn't you? Let's seal the deal then."_

_You could smell the alcohol _ _from_ _ his breath._

_"No." You said. "Please step away, Bellamy-san. You're drunk."_

_But he grabbed your hand instead, and you mentally prepared yourself to send out a sonic wave powerful enough to burst his eardrums. _

_He stepped closer to you, and you heard a voice._

_"Didn't you hear her? She said no." He said. "Fire Fist!" Suddenly, a mass of fire blew him away from you. You had no idea how far away he landed._

_"Ace." You looked up at him._

_"For someone so weak, why do you keep landing yourself in dangerous situations?" He asked, not meeting your eyes._

_"I could have taken care of that easily." You mumbled. _

_"_ _Suure_ _." He said and turned to walk away._

_"A-Ace..." You called nervously. _

_He stopped. "That song....who...did you write it for?" His back was to you, so you couldn't see his face._

_Was he really that dense?_

_"For you."_

_"You shouldn't make a joke like that." He said turning to _ _face_ _ you._

_"It wasn't a joke. Those are my true feelings." You told him. "I love you, Ace."_

_His face, illuminated by the moonlight seemed to change. As if those words held a different meaning to him. Almost as if to catch himself, a shadow fell over his eyes._

_"You can't say something like that so easily. Not to someone like me." He said through _ _gritted_ _ teeth. "You have no idea who I am. You don't know the kind of demon blood that runs in my veins!"_

_You stepped back slightly. "It doesn't matter where you come from. I don't care about that."_

_"You should. I'm a child that should never have been born." He said._

_"_ _That's_ _ not-"_

_"Gold Roger." He said, it was so low that you barely heard it. "_ _That's_ _ the kind of blood that I have. Can you really love someone like that?"_

_Your eyes widened. Was he serious?_

_"See?" He said and turned away again. _

_"So what?" You asked. "I _ _wasn't_ _ supposed to be born either. I was my mother's shame but she loved me to bits. Sure I struggled a lot when she died, but so what?" _

_You ran up _ _in front_ _ of him. "So what if they didn't want us? That doesn't mean that we _ _don't_ _ deserve to be loved! My mother told me that those who discriminate are wrong. I will never _ _suppress_ _ my feelings. I feel love and I want to be loved!" You shouted at him. "And you're lucky, you've found a family with the Whitebeard Pirates. I'm still searching."_

_His eyes looked dow_ _n at you, his eyes glossy. "You really love someone like me?"_

_"Yes, Portgas D. Ace. I love you." You said. _

_You lifted up your hand and wiped his tears. He took your hand before you could bring it down and pulled you closer to him._

_"You've also been through a lot, huh?" _ _He_ _ asked._

_You looked down and nodded. He _ _lifted_ _ your head up with his other hand._

_"I don't deserve you." He whispered. _

_"As long as you know." You smiled. _

_He brought his face down to your level, your heart dancing erratically, he kissed you._

_It was every bit as amazing as _ _you'd_ _ imagined. His lips were scorching hot against the coolness of yours. You forgot how to breathe for a second as you felt only the taste of him._

_You were _ _mesmerized_ _ looking up at him when you pulled apart._

_"Breathe." He ordered._

_You finally let out a breath._

_"Until you find your own, you are welcome to share my family." Ace said._

_"Does this mean that...that _ _you_ _ accept my feelings?" You asked._

_He bent down _ _and_ _ kissed you again. "Does that answer your question?"_

_"It sure answers mine." Someone said and you __both_ _turned__._

_"Thatch-san!" You said your face turning red._

_Thatch standing there, watching the two of you, grinning. _

_"What the- How long have you been standing there?" Ace asked._

_Thatch grinned again. "Long enough."_

_"Well then get lost!" He shouted throwing his dagger at him._

_Thatch caught it and laughed. "Fine. I'm going to go put _ _up_ _ our flag in Issaquah Lounge. Don't want anyone messing with this hothead's girl." He said. "Wait till Marco hears about this."_

_"Just go!" Ace retorted._

_Thatch threw back the dagger and clearly amused, left._

_Ace turned to you. "I forgot to mention, my family's a bit crazy though."_

_"I think I'll fit in just fine." You giggled.♤_

***

You decided to take Sabo up on his offer, so the day after New Year's day, you left Nana in the hospital at Headquarters. 

"Dr. Mansfield, please take care of her for me." You asked.

The doctor nodded. "Don't worry, I'll make sure that she doesn't miss any medication and that she's well taken care of." The doctor promised.

"I can take care of myself. You could have left me at the house and I would have been fine. You're too fussy, Y/N." Nana scolded, kissing Rouge goodbye. 

"Nana, if you want me to stay, I will. I don't have to go. I'll stay here with you." You promised. 

"Do I have to chase you out of here with a broom before you leave? Go. Have fun." She said.

"I'm not going for fun." You said taking Rouge with you. "I'm going to learn more recipes so I can make healthier food best suited for you and everyone else."

"Yes, but you should also live a little. You're young." She told you.

"I'll see you in about a month. Bye." You hugged her goodbye. 

You then accompanied Sabo to say goodbye to Dragon-sama. 

He was looking over a giant map on his desk.

"Dragon-san, we're about to leave." Sabo said entering the room. 

  
"Hmm, okay, do you have everything ready?" He asked.

"Yes, I already communicated with Iva-san." He replied.

"I was just looking at the map of Kanpekina Island to make sure that we did not miss anything so that you don't have trouble on the journey." Dragon-sama said gesturing to the map on the table.

"I see, well, we're doing our strategy meetings for the first week, we will discuss the best way to infiltrate without being seen." Sabo said. "In order to free all the slaves on that island and get the civilians to safety before we can join up with the Kanpekina Island's rebel army."

"You should make sure you free all the slaves. The rebel army contacted us and they wanted our help because so many of their citizens had been forced into slavery." Dragon-sama nodded.

"Yeah we will prioritise them definitely. What is happening on that island is all so atrocious and we have to do everything in our power to ensure that it ends." Sabo rolled up the map.

"Good then the three of you can choose the best course of action after assessing the country from up close. You can decide how to lead them towards their freedom." Dragon-sama instructed.

"We cannot have people being oppressed in countries that are members of the World Government just because of the Celestial Dragons' discrimination. We'll have to do what's best for them." Sabo agreed.

"I need you to be careful, this is a very delicate mission and if you are spotted, it could put the victims in a dangerous situation."

"Yes, I understand don't worry Dragon-san. Iva-san, Karasu and I will work out the details once I meet them." Sabo said.

"Very well then. Have a safe journey." He said.

"Goodbye then, we'll see you when we get back, Dragon-sama." You said bowing your head.

"Ah, yes, Y/N. I must say, you look a lot livelier than you did when you first got here." he said.

"She does, doesn't she?" Sabo commented.

You laughed, embarrassed. "I do? That's probably because everyone here takes such good care of me."

"I heard of everything that you've done for the children at Mesland School. I'm not here as often as I would like to be. I don't get to see the children as often as I wish, but I do go there sometimes and I heard of all the good things that you've done. Everyone here is very grateful for your work." He said honestly.

"Compared to everything that you've all done, it's nothing. All I do is make them a few meals. I'm the one who's grateful for everything that you've done for me." You said.

"I told you, she's very modest." Sabo said.

"I see. Then stay safe, and learn as much as you can to your heart's content. Don't worry about your grandmother, you can leave her in our hands." Dragon-sama assured you.

"Thank you." You smiled.

"Then, we'll see you when we get back." Sabo said, and the two of you left.

***

You were going in Sabo's ship, since you didn't have many people on board, just a few soldiers with you. You were also taking Tetsu, Hack and a few other people.

Maya, Kai, Robin and Koala were waiting to send you off at the harbour. You were happy to see all of them.

Maya and Kai were actually quite sad when you told them that you would be gone for a while. You had gotten quite close to them in the past few months.

Maya loved looking after Rouge and you had learned sign language over the past few months to communicate with her better. While you worried a lot about her because you found out that the reason why she didn't talk was probably because of something traumatic that happened to her when she was a child, still being able to smile like she was now had to be good for her.

Kai was actually rather fond of Sabo, who had also taken an interest in the boy probably due to the kinship of knowing what it was like to lose his memories. Oftentimes, Kai would try to spar with him, which always ended with Kai on the floor with a bump on his head.

"Chief, check out this brand new move that I learned. This one will take you down for sure!" Kai smiled as he unsheathed his sword running towards Sabo. "Cross wave cut!" He said swinging the sword in two swift motions for a projected attack. Sabo was surprised by the strength of the attack, but he easily deflected it with his pipe.

"Not bad." He said whacking Kai with his pipe on the head. The boy flinched. "With your speed, practise with a single swing to improve the power of your attack first. Something that weak, can't even reach me."

"Dang it. I'll get you next time." He said rubbing his head.

Everyone there laughed at him.

"Tsk tsk, those two are troublesome, aren't they?" Koala shook her head.

"It's like having two teenage boys in one place." You smiled. "Koala-chan, Robin-san, will you look in on Nana for me, from time to time?" You asked the two girls.

"Y/N-chan. Don't worry, if anything happens at all, we'll call you. We promise." Koala assured you.

"That's right. You should concentrate on learning, and not worrying." Robin smiled. 

You gave both of them and Maya a hug before stepping onto the ship.

"Kai, Maya. Take care until I get back, okay?" You said waving. 

Maya nodded.

  
"She sure looks excited today. Chief, are you using this as an excuse to take Y/N-san on a romantic vacation?" Kai asked.

"You are a very mouthy kid, aren't you?" Sabo hit him on the head.

"I'm not a kid. I can totally steal Y/N-san from you." He said.

Both you and Maya laughed.

"She doesn't want to be stolen. Certainly not by a weakling like you!" Sabo said jumping onto the ship with a smile to avoid getting cut by Kai's sword.

***  
That night Sabo checked that you were smooth sailing before coming back into the cabin.

You had just finished feeding Rouge and were about to read to her.

"Oh! That book!" Sabo said in surprise.

You held up the book, 'A Perfect World.' By Anonymous.

"This one? You've read it?" You asked.

"The Revolutionary Army used to distribute that book years ago. How do you have it? I know owning that book is banned by the World Government!" He exclaimed.

"It was given to me by a member of the Revolutionary Army a while after I ran away from home. It gave me a lot of strength to carry on." You told him.

"Yeah. Do...do you like it?" He asked, his face unreadable.

"Like it? This is my favourite book in the world!" You smiled.

His eyes widened. "You don't think...the author's views are too...idealistic?"

"What's wrong with a little idealism? The World Government banned the book because they knew that his ideologies are true!" You marvelled. "I know it's just children's short story but, I might have gone back home after running away if it wasn't for this. I love it."

"I can see." He smiled.

"Ace thought you'd like it too. Do you?" You asked.

"He did? I guess he knew me pretty well then." Sabo scratched his head. "I do like it. A lot."

You beamed.

"Get in the bed. I'll read both of you to sleep tonight." He said taking the book and sitting down next to you on the bed.

As you lay there sleeping, he began to read.

"Once Upon a Time there existed a certain Kingdom of Ordinary People. They didn't have much, they had no power and they had very little harvest but they were happy. This was all thanks to their king.

There was no class system in the kingdom, and everyone was virtually equal. The only one who possessed power was the Righteous King of the kingdom.  
The king had two sons, Osore the elder, who inherited his father's power and Muryo the younger, who was weak like the rest of the kingdom.

The kingdom wasn't bothered by any enemies as the tales of the king's power terrified them. Most of the citizens in the kingdom were poor and survived on farming the dry land.

The Righteous King always went down into every field to help the citizens farm the land. He would sit and talk with his people and help them in their fields. Because the king was so strong, whenever he was there, their work went faster and everyone appreciated him. The entire kingdom loved the king.

Muryo, the young prince, did not understand why the king never forced the people to pay him for his labour. He could not understand why the king never made them work in his farm too.

"Muryo, a king is not an absolute ruler. He learns and understands his people's needs. He guides them, but lets them keep their freedom." The king told Muryo.

"What is freedom?" The boy asked.

"Freedom is the right to choose how to live your own life as you wish." He said. "Just because there is a lack of power doesn't mean that freedom is unattainable. Freedom is not something that is deserved. Rich, poor, weak, strong, everyone deserves to be free. Freedom is a basic right." He said. "Do not let anyone ever take away your freedom."

The boy finally understood why everyone loved the King and that this was a kingdom that his father loved. He began to share his father's sentiments.

Unfortunately, as the boy grew up, the king eventually died. Osore, the king's eldest son inherited the throne. He had his father's power but not his heart. Osore took up a group of his friends and made them lord over the people, calling them nobles. He and his friends oppressed the townspeople and he used his power for evil. They made them work for them, then refused to give them food.

Muryo confronted his brother about his actions, but since he was weak, his brother defeated him and threw him out of the palace.

For a few years Muryo walked the landscape and found no redeeming qualities in his brother's rule. He didn't like it, he wanted the freedom that his father used to speak of.

He knew that there was no way he could defeat his brother because he was the definition of power in the kingdom, a being both feared and respected for his strength. There was nothing he could do by himself.

He looked at the country that he loved, the nobles and the king's fields that were raging with the sweat and blood of his people. He decided that it was enough. The people had lived in fear for too long.

He gathered them together and they took up arms against Orose. They wanted to be free from oppression, they didn't mind being ruled as long as it was by someone who appreciated them and their freedom.

Muryo started the rebellion against his brother and all the nobles that he had with him. His brother mocked him, believing that he could not defeat him.

Raging with the strength that the people had bestowed upon him, Muryo defeated his brother.

"I have all this power! How could I be defeated by someone so weak?" Orose lamented when the citizens finally forced him into exile.

"The weak can form united rebellions to topple even the most gigantic organisations." Muryo said. "You are a slave to your power. You abuse it and use it to hurt others. If you can't break away from its shackles, then you'll never be free."

"What do you know about freedom? Are you pitying me because I was defeated?" Orose shouted.

"Freedom is the right to choose how to live your own life as you wish. The rich, poor, strong and weak can live equally free in this kingdom. Everyone who wants to be free, should be free, even you. That is my idea of a perfect world."

The End."

Sabo put down the book and covered you with the blanket. He smiled. It made him happy that you were one of the people who had found inspiration in this book.

That you loved it.

***


	9. Queen's Domain

There were people awaiting your arrival at Momoiro Island. You had never known that a place existed in the world that was this...pink. Seriously, the trees, the leaves, the skies were pink.

As soon as you entered the Kamabakka Kingdom, you saw a large gathering of trees forming a heart with a brightly coloured rainbow above them.

Waiting for you there, was huge man with a large blue afro, and unnaturally long eyelashes and an arrowshaped chin.

He was scantily clad, and wore a queen's crown with a king's crown on top on his huge head.

So, this was Emporio Ivankov, the Okama Queen.

You had seen him in the paper after Marineford, but back then the only thing that you had really looked at was the disrespectful picture of the man you loved as he lay dead on the ground. Just thinking about it made you angry even now. But you didn't cry anymore.

"Wait how do I address him, her?"

Sabo turned to you. "Iva-san doesn't mind, either is fine." he said.

"Hee haw!" Iva said as Sabo helped you get off the boat.

"Iva-san. It's good to see you." Sabo smiled.

"You're late. I hate being kept waiting! I've been waiting so long I feel like my back will give out. Ouch." Iva put his hands on his back.

"Iva-sama! Are you okay?" His companions asked alarmed.

"It's no good. I'm going to fall into the sea!" He lamented.

"Oh no, Iva-sama!" They cried out.

"Yes, I'm falling, I'm falling, I'm FINE!" He laughed straightening up.

"Huh? That was joke? You're good, Iva-sama!" The okamas said to their queen.

"Hee haw!" Iva said again. He turned back to you.

"I know, sorry we're late." Sabo said.

"Iva-san, this is Y/N. Y/N, Iva-san."

"Ah, hello." You said.

"So, is this the woman that I've heard so much about from Koala?" Iva watched you.

"Koala-chan? What did she tell you?" You asked.

"Just some interesting things."

"Nothing important, I'm sure. That is Karasu over there." Sabo said gesturing to where there was a man there who had a pale white face and was wearing a giant fluffy black fur coat. He had a mask over his face that looked like a giant beak. You greeted him, and he muttered something.

They took your bags and you were led into the Queen's palace. It was a huge pink castle and you were sure there were lots of pretty rooms in here.

Since it was almost night time when you are arrived they decided to treat you to dinner.

"This is really good." You said tasting the sauce. "Is it made here?" You asked Inazuma, an officer of the Revolutionary Army who was next to you.

"Yes, we make it ourselves."

"I heard that you like to cook, Y/N-girl." Iva said.

"I do. I really love it." You responded.

"She said that she wanted to learn how to make some healthy foods for her grandmother, so I brought her here to learn." Sabo said in between moutfuls.

"Oh? Well don't worry, Caroline will send you to Tiffany who knows all of our healthy foods." Iva said.

"Really? Thank you." You said.

"By the way, did you know? We actually have one of your brother's crewmates here with us on this island. His name is Sanji." Inazuma told Sabo.

"Really?"

"Yes, I know you have Nico Robin with you there in Baltigo too, right?" Inazuma asked.

"Yeah we do and we're actually good friends." You replied since Sabo's mouth was full of chicken right now.

"Well I'm sure Sanji-boy will be glad to know that she's fine too."

"Where can I find him?" You asked.

Iva laughed. "Well I don't know about that. My candies are always chasing him all over the place, so he keeps moving from place to place. I don't know if you'll be able to find him."

"Why?" You asked.

"They have a few pretty dresses with his name on them. We don't know where he is, he only shows himself after doing some training when he comes to challenge one of the Newkama kempo masters." Inazuma said. "I'm sure you'll see him if you're gonna be here the whole month. They're definitely going to find his current hideout and chase him around again."

"Sure." You didn't know what that was about.

"If he's challenging your masters, he must be strong." Sabo spoke.

"He is. He's been doing some training and getting even stronger too." Iva confirmed.

"I'm glad. Luffy's always safer with stronger people by his side." Sabo said.

***

After dinner, Caroline showed you to the room that you would be using. The room was pink, and there was a huge bed in the middle, and a cot for Rouge on the side.

"I'm sorry." Sabo said sitting down on the bed. "I couldn't exactly ask for separate rooms."

You placed Rouge inside the cot.

"It's a big bed. We'll be fine." You said and removed your sleeping clothes from your bag.

You lied. It wasn't fine. You washed your face as you changed in the bathroom. The only people that you had ever shared a bed with in your life were your mother, Nana and Ace. When you came back, you lay down on the bed. Sabo was already lying down on the other side.

You were suddenly hyper aware that he was there, even though there was a distance between you and him separated in the large bed. It was as if his heat was able to reach you somehow as you breathed.

You felt the need to say something, anything to fill the silence. "So what's with the goggles? Is it a Revolutionary Army thing?"

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing, it's just that they remind me of a time past." You said.

"Reminds you of what?" He seemed closer somehow, so you did not dare to turn around.

"My mom was always very sick, so she always stayed inside, but she really wanted me to see the sea with her so one day she convinced my father to let her take me on a picnic. Mama was always so sad, but on that day, she smiled the most." You said.

You smiled, remembering how pale and windswept she had looked that day, but you could say without a doubt that it was the happiest you had ever seen her look, your entire life.

"Did she love the sea too, like you?" He asked watching you.

"Yeah. She did. She's the whole reason why I do too, I suppose. It was always so rare to see her smile, but when looking out at the sea, she looked...less sad." You told him. You knew why now, of course, but back then you just enjoyed seeing her smile.

"Anyway, the day she took me on the picnic, she was nervous. I always held my breath for a long time in water, but for some reason she was worried that the seawater would hurt my eyes if I stayed in there for too long." You looked down at Rouge sleeping peacefully, her breathing even.

"She bought me these pretty red goggles. They had flowers all over band, and were made by some old company called Synchid in the East Blue, so it was really hard to come by them in the north." You closed your eyes. "They were really expensive, and were the only gift my mother ever gave me."

"Do you still have them?" Sabo asked.

You pursed your lips. "No. My eldest brother broke them when I was running from home. I regret losing them, after all I didn't take anything else of my mother's when I left home." You said. "The company died down years ago, so I couldn't get a replacement. They were just goggles, but to me, we're the most precious thing my mother ever gave me. I know it's stupid but, I guess it makes my heart heavy that I can't give those goggles to Rouge."

Sabo was silent for a while. "Well, it's not stupid because they hold sentimental value to you." His voice was quiet, almost detached.

He had always sat on the side of your bed, but you had never slept like this with him there. For some reason you were finding it hard to breathe normally. Usually the presence of another person would make it come easier to sleep as long as you could hear them you would sleep soundly, especially if it was him.

So why was it so hard to sleep now?

You were facing the other side, beside with Rouge's cot.

His breathing had steadied.

You wondered if he'd fallen asleep, so you turned around and looked at him. He was asleep. He must have been tired, his hair was falling over his face is he peacefully breathed.

_♤He is so close.♤_

You shifted your body to face him and you fell asleep looking at him.

***

The following day, Caroline took you to meet Tiffany was in charge of all the ingredients. She lived in a small house close to the forest. As you walked in a young okama with long blonde hair and wearing pretty brown lipstick was inside.

"Tiffany, this is Y/N. I told you about her." Caroline said.

After she left, "So you like to cook too?" Tiffany asked.

"Yes I do." You said and told her everything.

She smiled. "So, your grandmother has heart failure, right? Well I have a few things that I can teach you there. I don't do a lot of actual cooking here. I just inspect the ingredients used. That's what I'm going to show you. It's important to monitor what you put inside your food. I'll be showing you like what kind of ingredients work best with heart problems." She told you.

"The best advice I can give you is to choose plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. They contain only small amounts of salt. Choose foods that are low in salt, such as fresh meats, poultry, fish, dry and fresh legumes, eggs, milk and yogurt. Plain rice, pasta and oatmeal are good low-sodium choices." Tiffany said beginning of the first lesson.

You listened intently.

Sabo spent the rest of the week with Iva and Karasu, planning the strategy for when they were going to infiltrate Kanpekina Island. 

You always saw him when you came back from the kitchens at night as you shared the bedroom. You were slowly getting used to feeling the heat around him when you were sleeping.

The okamas loved Rouge and they enjoyed taking care of her. You didn't have to carry her around all the time.

At the end of the week, Sabo, Karasu and Iva were leaving to infiltrate the island on a boat with some soldiers that you and Sabo came with. You went to the dock so that you could say goodbye to Sabo with Caroline and Tiffany.

Iva said. "Caroline you take care of Y/N-girl and look after my candies."

"Yes, Iva-sama!" Caroline said as everyone got on the ship.

Sabo put a hand on Rouge's cradle and then turned to you.

"I'll be back in a couple of weeks. See you then." He said.

You bit your lip. "Is this a really dangerous mission?" You asked.

He came closer to you and pulled you in for a hug. "Not anymore than all the others. You always worry too much."

You nodded. "Okay, we'll be waiting."

Perhaps he saw your apprehension at being left behind in a land where you did not know anyone, and wanted to reassure you, but what he did next caught you off guard.

Pulling away from the hug, his hand rested below your ear, and he pulled your face towards him. You felt his gentle lips on your forehead. Soft, warm, the sensation lingered on your surprised face.

_Thump._

_Thump._

It was just a peck, lasting only for a brief moment but your face heated up. Your heartbeat sped up, and you shook slightly, almost losing your balance but he steadied you.

_♤What is this feeling?♤_

He had hugged you before, comforted you countless times. But not like this. Never like this. To him it was probably just a simple gesture of reassurance, but he had no idea how weird your insides were feeling right now.

Or maybe he did, as he smiled, waved and got on the boat leaving you there with a squealing Caroline who was jumping around like she was so jealous of you.

"Oooh, Sabo-kun is sooo sweet." She gushed. "You're so lucky.."

"Yeah...sweet..." That's right. That was just him being sweet, nothing more.

Your body was just overreacting because it had been so long since you'd felt the lips of a man on your body.

That was it.

***  
As the days went by, you learned a lot from Tiffany. You went look for herbs that were best for blood flow and for the remainder of that week you stayed there with Tiffany. There was this one giant tree that only grew in the Kamabakka Kingdom.

"It is good for the heart and blood circulation. If you squeeze the juice out of its branches you can use it in your cooking or to make juice or porridge." She said.

She was also showed you some things that were also good for the baby because you were easing Rouge into solid foods now and she was quite enjoying the porridge that you gave her.

"You should season with herbs, spices, herbed vinegar and fruit juices. Avoid herb or spice mixtures that contain salt or sodium. Use lemon juice or fresh ground pepper to accent natural flavors. Try orange or pineapple juice as a base for meat marinades." She explained.

She taught you to be careful with high sodium condiments like, lemon pepper, garlic salt, onion salt, meat tenderizers, flavor enhancers, bouillon cubes, catsup, mustard, steak sauce and soy sauce. How to stay away from hidden salt like in canned foods.

One day, Tiffany gave you certain flower seeds for a flower.

"Here, plant this flower as soon as you get home, you're gonna need it when your baby starts teething. Trust me." she said.

"Thank you Tiffany. For everything."

"Hey, don't thank me. I'm really glad to help you, everyone here is so used to the way I work, so no one really pay special attention to the delicate art of ingredient choice. Looking after so many people, you have to consider things like that." She said.

You nodded. "I know, like I also cook for children back home and most of them are teenagers so they eat a lot and I have to do my best to make sure that they have some good food." You said to her.

"I see, well I'll give you some of the old recipes here. We have some good ones from our Attack Cuisine, especially for fighters. Those children are being trained so that they can help the army in its fight." She offered.

"Thank you so much, Tiffany."

"I'm going to introduce you to someone, no one else but me knows where he is. I'm keeping him all to myself." She told you.

"Who is it?"

"I'll tell you but you can't tell anyone that you know where he is because he'll have to run again and I like having him all to myself even though he always turns me away whenever I come to see him. His name is Sanji-kun." She told you.

"Robin-san's crewmate? He's here?" You asked.

"Yes, everyone wants him but I gave him a hiding spot in my secret kitchen, hidden in the forest." She smiled. "He is a good cook who will teach you some very good recipes too. I think he'll be quite glad to see you actually."

"Why is that?"

She smiled. "You'll see. Come on."

You walked down a stretch of the pine pink trees in the forest and came into a small building hidden among the trees that looked like a cottage. Tiffany led you into the kitchen and so you went inside there, Tiffany carrying Rouge with her.

"Sanji-kun." She called. And out of the small kitchen, a young man emerged. He was tall, with blonde hair parted to the side, hiding one of his eyes. He had weird, curly eyebrows that reminded you of a rude, green haired prince that you had met back in the North Blue. You did not want to think about that experience.

But back to this young man, he scowled when he saw Tiffany, who was holding Rouge.

"Huh! Tiffany! What the hell are you-" but then his eyes landed on you.

You had never seen a faster mood switch in your life. His gaze softened and his eye seemed to dance in glee. With just one look at you, he had a nosebleed.

He turned away. "No, she's one of them, I'm sure of-" but he could not keep from glancing back at you. "♡Ah! My love, what a perfectly served dishhh♡♡!" He came over eagerly and...smelled you?

His nose bled, if possible, even more. "This is an intoxicating feminine scent♡♡!"

The young man pulled out a chair for you, and bowed, gesturing for you to take it. Apprehensively, you sat down.

"My beautiful queen, I, Sanji, cannot control this love blooming in my heart, may I have your name, please?"

"Y/N...?" You weren't sure what to think of this man fawning over you. Was he a huge pervert or a perfect gentleman?

"Waaaah♡♡ Y/N-chwaaaan♡. A name befitting a beautiful goddess like yourself. Ah, I have been stuck in hell for so long but someone has heard my prayers of suffering." He knelt down in front of you. "For an angel has descended from heaven and appeared in front of me♡♡♡"

He was moving so fast it looked like he was floating on air. "♡ Mellorine♡♡ Mellorine♡♡♡ Mellorine♡♡♡♡!"

You glanced over at Tiffany and she shrugged. Sanji frowned. "Oh, Tiffany, where did you steal that baby?!"

"Oh, that's my daughter, Rouge." You explained.

You could almost see the heartbreak in his eyes. "Y/N-chan, is married?" He asked sadly.

You smiled. "No. I'm not."

"Ooooh♡!" He jumped up. "A hardworking single mother♡♡♡. Y/N-chwan♡. Oh, love, a beautiful woman dedicated to raising her daughter alone♡. ♡♡Mademoiselle, I will serve you for the rest of my life. Oh, the sweet joy to dedicate myself to taking care of you and Rouge-chan. Mellorine♡♡♡!"

"Sanji-kun, she has a boyfriend. That baby's father." Tiffany said.

Sanji's expression soured so rapidly that you felt sorry for him.

"Ah. Who's the luckiest guy on the Grand Line?" He said, his face drooping.

"The Revolutionary Army's Chief of Staff. Very tough guy. Do not mess with him." Tiffany advised. "She's a lucky girl to have handsome boy like Sabo-san. I'm so jealous. Every time he came here, which isn't very often, we were always watching him. I should've gotten to him before you did."

"I guess I am very lucky that he decided to look at me." You said.

Inwardly, you wondered how Sanji would react to your mermaid form if he was this enamoured with your human form.

Somebody ought to get the blood transfusion ready.

"Y/N wants to learn from you, Sanji-kun." Tiffany said.

"My grandmother has a heart disease. I want to learn to make low sodium foods for her that are healthy and still taste good. Will you help me, Sanji-kun?" You bowed your head.

"Absolutely!" He said delighted. "I would love to teach you all I know, Y/N-chwaan♡"

True to his word, Sanji threw himself into teaching you some really good recipes. (He also threw himself at you, but that's beside the point.) You learned a lot of things. He would give you a list of ingredients that needed buying because there was no way he was going to risk being found so easily.

For the next two weeks you spent most of time alternating between learning more about the ingredients with Tiffany and also hanging out with Sanji as he taught you some of his amazing recipes. He was a brilliant chef, and his cooking skills amazed you.

There were many things Sanji was teaching you, like the importance of choosing fresh foods when you could. Cheeses, cured meats and fast foods and frozen foods contained a lot of sodium, so you would have to stay away from these for Nana.

You made fruit salads, simple healthy, fruit drinks and he even showed some of his own specialties which were delicious.

He taught you how to make your own spices as well for chicken, fish as well as vegetable spices.

Since you didn't really know how to breach the subject about Luffy, given that he didn't know about you and Ace, or about Sabo being Luffy's brother, you tried a different approach.

You asked him, "By the way, you're a Straw Hat, right? So, that means you know Robin-san, right?"

He turned to you so quickly that he almost cut himself with the knife that he was holding. "You know Robin-chan?"

"Yeah, she's my friend. She is she's currently with the Revolutionary Army, we live on the same island." You explained.

"Is she okay? Is she doing well?" He asked.

"She's doing great." You said.

"Ah, ♡♡Robin-chwan♡♡. I'm sure she looks more beautiful now. I miss her so much." He said with a faraway look. They must be really close.

"I've known her for almost six months now, she's really nice to me and Rouge, I remember this one time...." You started rambling about stories about Robin. Sanji seemed to take in the stories, listening to the antics of his friend.

"I wish I could go see Robin-chan♡, but I have to endure my time in this hell. That way, after I get stronger, I'll be able to protect her and everyone else in the New World." Sanji said.

_♤You were right, Ace, Luffy-kun has some really good, reliable friends.♤_

"You should write a letter for her. When Sabo and I go back, we'll give it to her." You suggested.

"Yes, I'm going to write a letter to Robin-chan ♡ Confessing all my feelings for her♡ She'll read it and fall in love with me♡♡♡!" Sanji started looking giddy again. "I'm going to prepare some food that you can take with you for her."

He seemed really happy to hear about the news of his friend. You smiled with him.

It was very useful learning how to make salt free herb blends and soon you moved on to learning how to make a dip blend for mixing with cottage cheese, yogurt, or low-fat sour cream which consisted of dried dill weed, dried chives, garlic powder, dried lemon peel and dried chervil.

You also made salad dressing made with fresh garlic, herbs, olive oil and flavoured vinegar.

One day Sanji wanted to take you to go and look for some roots on the east side of the forest that he said were good for blending sauces. The two of you were moving cautiously to avoid being seen. You failed.

That was the first time you witnessed it. Sanji was running for his life as the inhabitants of the island chased him mercilessly. He ran around until his feet were sore and he jumped so high and fell into a pond.

He never went further from the cottage than a mile or so after that. You always went to buy the ingredients. He showed himself only to you, teaching you every single thing that you had to do, and was patient with you. You had to admit you liked the attention, a little. You had been afraid of being left in a strange place where you didn't know anyone but it was nice being here with Sanji and Tiffany.

"How's the dip Sanji?" You asked nervously, after preparing a new one.

He tasted it. "This is really good, Y/N-chan♡." He said with a smile.

"Really? You're not just saying that?" You asked suspiciously.

"No, I'm not. You're pretty damn good. That was the last one right? You've learned everything that you wanted. What are you going to do with the leftover ingredients? You won't throw them away, will you?" Sanji asked.

"Of course not. I'll take everything to the palace kitchen. I know all about conservation. I mean it's not like in the Revolutionary Army we have loads of resources or anything. It depends on donations, on the raids of government facilities, or pirate bounties that they turn in. Food is such a precious resource, and I can't have anyone going hungry on my watch." You said determinedly. After all you were a member of the Revolutionary Army by now.

Sanji looked at you seriously. "I really think that I'm falling in love with you right now. A beautiful woman, who loves to cook and you appreciate the importance of not wasting food. It's like you were made for me♡."

"I bet you say that to all the girls." You smiled.

"Nooo, just Y/N-chwan♡♡♡." He said doing what you had dubbed his lovesick dance.

"Anyway. I'm really thankful for your teachings. I'm just wondering if you know any really good ramen recipes?" You wanted to know.

Sanji looked up from the soup he was stirring. "Oh, Y/N-chan♡, if you love ramen why didn't you tell me? I could have made you a special meal filled with ♡love♡!"

"No it's not for me. Sabo loves ramen." You cleared up.

Sanji's face fell. "I see, you must have been using the kitchen to steal his heart. If only Y/N-chan♡ wasn't taken, I could use this food to steal your heart♡♡ too. Still there's nothing more beautiful than a woman in love."

You blushed. "I just want to serve him the best version of his favourite food. And if you know any good recipes for combating fatigue and tiredness of mind, teach me those too. Because he's always so tired when he comes back home from the missions and I mean, I just want something to boost his spirits. It's the least I can do, because he's just taking such great care of us and he didn't have to." You told him.

"Huh? What do you mean? You're his family aren't you?" Sanji asked curiously.

"I just mean that there are many men who'd leave a woman to raise an unplanned child by herself. I meant that he didn't have to take such good care of us and I'm really grateful to him for that." You said correcting yourself.

"♡I see, you're so precious, why do you have to be taken?! Oh, well, it's fine as long as he takes good care of you. I'll teach you how to make some of that food, Y/N-chan♡." Sanji said.

As you were nearing the end of the fourth week, you were worried. You had not communicated with Sabo in two weeks.

"They were supposed to be gone for two weeks only." You mumbled looking at a newspaper from last week. "Do you think it it's gotten worse?"

"I don't know what does the newspaper say?" Sanji asked

It said that the World Government had deployed Navy soldiers to the island to keep people safe because of the Civil War that was taking place. It said that they suspected the Revolutionary Army had incited the people.

"This is the one from a week ago. Sabo said that they were supposed to be infiltrating quietly." You bit your lip.

"Don't worry too much." Sanji said. "Your boyfriend will be fine, he'll come back to you. I know I definitely would."

You nodded, and immersed yourself in your cooking. Sabo promised that he was never going to leave you behind, and said he was coming back so you were sure that he would.

***

You ran really fast, clutching Rouge to the palace. As you arrived, you saw Iva being welcomed by his candies, and Inazuma was right next to him with Karasu. Caroline seemed happy that the queen was back.

And then you saw him. Sabo looked fine, not a scratch on him. He was scanning the crowd of okamas surrounding him, as if looking for something.

"Sabo." You called out.

He smiled, walking towards you. "I hope you didn't worry too much about me. You weren't too worried, right?"

"I wasn't worried at all."

"Liar." He opened his arms and held you close to his chest.

"Okay I was worried, but you said you'd come back and you did. You always do." You said, feeling so close to him, even though Rouge, in your arms was between you. "I'm so glad." You said releasing the breath that you didn't know you'd been holding.

That night you went to the palace kitchen to help make Sabo's meal, fried rice with various seafood, like shrimp and octopus. You seasoned it by adding some of the ingredients that you had learned helped with tiredness.

"I made you something that that I learned to cook recently. I hope you like it." You set the plate before him.

"Thank you for the food." He said, mouth watering, and dived in.

You watched him eat. It always fascinated you how much you enjoyed watching him eat the food that you cooked. In those moments, and the expressions he made, he was like an open book for you to read, especially when he was clearly enjoying it, like he was now. It wasn't so insane for you because seeing him eat your food like that, made you feel like you were helping him, just as he helped you.

He looked at you as soon as he was done, a huge smile on his face.

"This is the best fried rice I have ever eaten in my life." 

Suddenly, the day was perfect.

***

"Come on, I wanna show you something." Sabo said dragging you by your hand, the day before you were due to leave Momoiro Island.

"Is that a crow?" You asked as a black bird descended in front of you.

"Yeah, I borrowed it from Karasu. Get on." He climbed onto the bird. He held out his hand and pulled you up after him. "Hold on to me or else you'll fall."

You sat down behind him on the soft feathers of the crow, and it felt like a fluffy cushion that you could relax into. You knew what Sabo meant, but for some reason, felt hesitant as you put your arms around his waist from the back.

_Thump_

_Thump_

_Thump_

"There's no need to be nervous, we haven't even started flying yet." He smiled.

"I-I-I'm not nervous at all." You stuttered, you could feel yourself fidgeting, and you were pretty sure that your body heat was way higher than it should be.

_♤What is this feeling?♤_

Sabo laughed. "Yes, you are. I can literally feel your heartbeat behind me."

He was right. You were just nervous.

You gulped as the bird soared into the air, the wind sweeping through your face, catching you by surprise and you reflexively closed your eyes and held on tighter.

When the wind steadied, you opened your eyes. You were flying through the sky, looking down breathlessly at the ground.

"There it is. Look." Sabo said. You did not have to ask him what to look at. You could see it clearly. 

The vast ocean was no longer blue, no, it was caught in the spell of orange rays, in contradistinction to the darkening sky. The warm glow caught you both, entrapping the entire island in the fiery, almost red hue of the setting sun as it disappeared into the horizon.

"There's a certain freedom about watching it from up here. It feels as if we're almost detached from the world below. Like there's just the two of us in the world." Sabo whispered.

He was facing to the side, so you could only see the side of his face ahead of you as he watched the sunset. For some reason, the sun had chosen to bestow the last of its golden rays on his face, it engulfed him, his blonde curls shaken by the wind, casting a blazing light on him. It bathed his face in a beautiful otherworldly glow.

_Thump._

"It's a beautiful sight, isn't it? It almost spreads the beauty down to your heart. Watching the sunset from here is very special to me." Sabo smiled turning to look at you.

_Thump._

_♤Shit. I think I know what this feeling is.♤_

_Thump._

***


	10. This Feeling

You stood at the harbour of the island as the ship was being loaded with the giant craters of food and other supplies before you left.

You walked over to Iva. "Iva-san, I wanted to thank you for everything that you did for me, giving me a place to learn. I also wanted to say thank you for what you did at Marineford for Luffy-kun and Ace." You said, your head bowed. "Sabo said that he already thanked you but, I really wanted to thank you myself."

"Hee haw!" Iva laughed. "Where did you find this one, Sabo? She's a keeper! Can I keep her?"

"No way. She's mine." He said drapping his arm around your waist possessively. He meant it as a joke of course, in response to Iva's words. So why were there stupid butterflies dancing in your stomach? Why did your face feel so hot? And why, when he finally let go, did you feel slightly disappointed?

You knew why, of course.

_♤I am so screwed.♤_

"We really should be going." Sabo said as the men packed the last of the food into the ship. "Thank you for the supplies."

You said goodbye to a teary Tiffany. She gave you a large basket filled with neatly packed food and a letter to Robin from Sanji. Apparently, he had wanted to come and give this to you himself but unfortunately, his hideout had been discovered and he was running for his life somewhere even as you spoke.

You were a little disappointed that you did not get to thank him again for his help but, it was okay, you were sure that you would see him again someday.

You left the pink island after that, glad of the memories that it had given you.

Karasu was travelling with you and you would drop him off at a nearby island. After putting Rouge to sleep, you joined Sabo and Karasu for a drink in the ship's kitchen.

"How are you going to get home after we drop you off? Karasu, I hope you're not planning on flying all the way to the North Blue." Sabo said.

Karasu laughed. "No, some of our comrades are raiding a weapons shipment to the nearby Navy base. We have our rendezvous on the next island, then we'll travel home together." He explained.

"Oh, that's right, that's three days from now that the North Army is doing the raid. Do you need help?" Sabo asked.

"It's okay, we have it under control. You already gave us plenty of funds from the last bounty you collected in Saylin." He said.

"Well, Luffy let out so many prisoners from Impel Down, it isn't hard to find a few dangerous criminals to capture." Sabo said honestly.

"Well then everything is good." Karasu said. "As soon as we're done with this, we're going back to the North Blue."

"You're from the North Blue? That's where I was born actually." You said. "It's my homeland."

Sabo turned to you curiously.

"Is that so?" Karasu asked. "Which island?"

"I was born on Kimi Island, the Tombe Kingdom." You said. "I wonder what it's like now."

"Tombe? Ah, yes, ruled by Tombe Kairo, it's not a bad place to live. They are very conservative people, but they have a good king. Not too friendly, but he treats his people well." Karasu said.

You smiled a little. It was nice hearing news of your older brother even though the two of you didn't get along very well. He had been very hard on you growing up.

After the words he had said when you were running away from home, those awful bone chilling words that made you hate someone for the first time in your life, you swore never to go back home. That you would find a real family. And yet even after everything that he done to you, you were glad that he wasn't being a tyrant, it would have made your mother really sad.

"That's good." You said. You didn't say much after that thinking of home.

You dropped off Karasu at the Lulusia Kingdom before continuing on to Baltigo. You slept away most of the journey.

***  
The first thing you did when you arrived at Baltigo was to rush to the hospital at Headquarters to see Nana.

She was sitting up in the bed, clearly annoyed about something. Her hands were a little swollen and besides a little heavy breathing, she looked healthy.

"Nana." You said and she turned around. When she saw you, she fell into a smile and got out of bed. Your eyes widened when you saw that her feet were swollen too.

"I'm sorry, I'm a little later than I said I would be." You apologised.

"I am so glad that you came back okay, Y/N." She smiled.

You allowed yourself to rest in her arms. Normally, she would be complaining about it, but seeing as she just sighed and accepted her fate, she must have really missed you in the past month. You took Nana outside of the hospital and she was happy to go.

Doctor Mansfield shook his head. "I swear you would think that we were holding her prisoner." He said. "She must have really missed you."

"Thank you so much for everything, Dr. Mansfield." You said to the doctor.

You collected Nana's medication from him.

"Sure." He smiled. "Just take good care of her and if something goes wrong, just bring her back here."

You nodded and followed the old woman outside where Sabo was waiting, after talking to Dragon-sama, holding Rouge. Nana's wrinkles shifted into a smile when she saw her granddaughter.

"Nana, hi." Sabo smiled.

"Sabo-san, it is good to see you." She smiled.

"We've been gone for a while, so would you like to hold Rouge?" Sabo offered. 

"Yes please." she said taking the baby from him, and holding her close her chest. Rouge smiled when Nana held her up.

"Let's go home." Sabo said opening the doors for you and Nana to get into the winrot.

"Thank you." You smiled as he drove you home.

Having been empty for a month, the house was a little dusty so after you put Nana and Rouge in her room you tidied up a little.

Sabo stayed in his room reading through some papers probably making a report over what happened in that past month.

That afternoon, you went to Koala's house to visit her and Robin and to bring her stuff from Sanji. They were sitting outside in the veranda and as soon as they saw you, they stood up and smiled.

Koala squealed and Robin approached you quickly, her arms held out.

"Hello, Robin-san." You smiled, but instead of giving you a hug, she just took Rouge from you, who was happy to go. "Oh, wow."

"I've missed you so much, Rouge-chan." Robin said as she smiled happily holding the child up in the air.

Koala laughed.

"Koala you're not gonna slight me too, right? Rouge stole all of Robin-san's affections from me." You pouted in mock sadness.

She jumped on to you, giving you a hug.

"You're back! How was it in Momoiro Island?" Koala asked.

"The island was awesome, it was really great. I learned a lot of things." You said.

"Oh, I'm glad." She beamed.

"Thank you guys. Nana told me you guys want to see her all the time."

"Your grandma's awesome." Said Koala. "She gave Dr. Mansfield a hard time because she kept trying to help people in the hospital. She'd be like, 'I'm a nurse if there are people who are sick, I'm the one that should help you too!'. I think she forgot that she too was a patient."

You laughed. "She's always been like that, she loves taking care of people." You said.

Koala nodded, then turned to Robin, "Come on Robin-san, don't hog Rouge the whole time, I wanna hold her too."

"I knew it, you are also happier to see Rouge than to see me. My feelings are so hurt." You said. "In fact, I'm starting to think that I won't give you the gift that I have for you, Robin-san."

She looked over, giving Rouge to Koala. "A gift for me?"

"That's right I met one of your crewmates on Momoiro Island." You said.

Her face lit up and you had never seen her looking that curious. "You did? Who?"

"Sanji-kun." You told her and she smiled widely.

"Was he doing alright?"

"Yes, he was fine, he's happy to hear that you're doing well too."

"I'm so glad." Robin said.

"He gave me this letter and this basket of packed food for you." You told her.

Robin delightedly took the items.

"Oh, that's nice, I'm so glad you got news about you crewmate Robin-san." Koala said as Robin read the letter. She laughed at something on it.

"What, did he write a joke on there or something?" You asked curiously.

"No, it's just that the first half of it is a love letter. That is just like Sanji." She said. "But why does he say he's in hell?"

"Hmm. You know, on that island, right now there are no women." You said. Robin looked torn between being amused and being terrified for Sanji. "Yeah, he had a nosebleed the first time we met." You laughed.

"Oh, poor Sanji." Robin sighed.

"Well anyway, I just wanted to thank you guys, I have to go home and make dinner." You said.

~

When you got home, you decided to make a simple meal to ease Nana to your new style of cooking. You decided to make chicken and skillet pasta with spinach.

You cooked the pasta and drained it before you set it aside. Then you added chicken and pepper, stirring occasionally, until just cooked through, to oil that you had been boiling in a skillet. You then added garlic and cooked, until you stirred in lemon juice and zest; bringing everything to a simmer.

After removing it from the heat, you stirred in spinach and the cooked pasta. You covered and let it stand until the spinach was just wilted. You served the food and topped each serving with a tablespoon parmesan.

"I made it a little differently, do you like it?" You asked, watching Nana eat.

"I love it." Nana smiled.

You beamed as you fed Rouge some porridge too. With Sabo and Nana clearly enjoying their food and Rouge not complaining as you fed her quietly, you thought of how amazing it was that you had this little family.

You were happy.

That night, you put Rouge's cot in Sabo's room went downstairs, to Nana's room. She was breathing heavily, and it made you worry a little.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I'm here to sleep." You said getting into the bed with her.

"Go away." Nana mumbled, but you held closely onto her. You knew you didn't have a lot of time left with her, but you didn't want to think about that.

"I wanna snuggle with you, Nana." You breathed. You started singing softly, "Sunset, sunset, little bit of sunshine..."

Nana sighed. "What a persistent child." She mumbled. Her breathing was heavy, and you could feel how she drew the breath with effort from her chest. This close to her, you felt how rapidly her heart was going.

You held on closer, almost as if you were willing her not to go anywhere.

***

Dinah was delighted when you returned to Mesland School As she had been the one in charge of cooking for everyone in your absence.

Maya and Kai were absolutely happy to have you back too. You eased yourself back to work without a problem.

Maya spent time with you in the kitchen. "You're really good at helping out in the kitchen. Don't you want to be in training with the others?" You asked.

She looked up and signed, "I love learning to cook."

"Well alright, but you should probably learn from someone like Dinah, with a lot of experience. I wasn't always a cook, I'm more used to waitressing and bartending." You told her.

"But I really like learning from you." She signed.

"Alright, you can help me peel the carrots and chop them up really nicely." You said. "Don't rush it okay?"

Maya nodded and then said in sign language, "You put so much care into making the food for us."

"I had some good teachers. And of course, I'm careful. You guys are the people that are gonna be the future strength of the Revolutionary Army after all." You smiled.

"I can't fight but I want to support the people that saved me. If I learn to cook, I know I'll be an asset to them." She signed.

"You and I are on the same boat." You said.

"Sorry to interrupt your bonding time ladies." Said someone from the door.

"Kai? Are you here to steal some food?" You narrowed your eyes.

"I was just hungry and I just thought I could come and get a snack." He said hopefully.

"Fine." You said throwing him a packet of rice crackers, "Don't make this a habit and don't walk into my kitchen without permission."

"Thanks, Y/N-san." He said leaning on the sink and eating them. "By the way ever since your trip with the with the chief you've been looking positively radiant, did something happen?"

"What? Get out, nothing happened." You said. "Go tell the others to come to the Dining Hall, lunch is almost ready."

"Hmm, if you say so." He said before leaving.

After lunch was served, you went to the Dining Hall where Robin was sitting with some of the girls in her History class.

You sat across from her, checking to make sure that the girls were enjoying the food you had prepared.

"Tell me if there is something that you don't like. I can't promise I can always make it to the best standards, but I want to make something that you will like." You said.

"What are you talking about, Y/N-san? Your food is always really good." One of the girls said.

"I'm glad you like it." You smiled.

"So, Y/N-san, what did you and the chief do on Valentine's day?" Maya's friend Reva asked.

"I...what?" You blinked at the curious faces around the table. "We didn't do any-"

But suddenly, you thought back. You had not realised it on the day, but a few days ago, on Momoiro Island when Sabo took you to see the sunset from the sky...that was on Valentine's day. Did he know? Had he done it on purpose?

Probably not.

"Oh, Y/N-san, you're blushing! You must have done something interesting." Reva giggled.

"No, what...I'm not." You said avoiding especially Robin's piercing gaze.

"Oh, I love romance stories, how did you two first meet?" One girl asked.

You frowned, trying to think of a way to say it without giving anything away.

"I was going through a hard time, I'd just lost someone important to me, and I was in trouble. Sabo was there for me, he gave me hope, a chance to move on." You said.

"Was it love at first sight?" Maya signed.

"Love at first sight? Oh, no. I wasn't in a position to fall in love with anyone. For me it was gradual, from spending more time with him, understanding the world that he lives in... how infectious his personality is, and how much he cares about me."

_♤Why are these words flowing so easily from me? How come I don't need to think about what to say?♤_

"Even though he didn't expect Rouge, he didn't leave me, leave us, behind. Instead, he brought us here, to a place so important to him and he accepted us as his family..." You stopped, the girls were listening intently.

Your mind was going a crazy, this feeling was real after all.

You stood up. Robin cast you a knowing look, but you didn't turn around. You walked away quickly and locked yourself in the kitchen and took a deep breath. Why had things turned out like this?

When you got back home you stood outside at the back, watching the ocean. You had to clear your mind.

You took off your shirt and jumped in the water. You let it fill you as the transformation started. Here, your thoughts were coherent.

You watched as the ocean soaked you as you swam inside the water to clear your head, it always worked. Under here without any need to hold your breath, you felt the water rushing through the scales on your back and through your tail. Free in the water like this, you had no need to suppress anything.

_♤Ace, I like your brother. Are you angry? Are you mad at me? I really like him, and you know me, I'm not really good at hiding how I feel. I'm sorry but you're the one who told me that you don't want the song in my heart to stop playing. You told me to cry for a little while for you but you would have wanted me to move on, I know you would. It is not that I'm actually going to do anything about my feelings but Ace, I told you didn't I, that day when I confessed my feelings to you that I feel love and I want to be loved._

_Even the last time that I spoke to you, in Impel Down, you told me not to be too sad and to face the world with the same optimism that I had when I first met you. Ace, I almost lost that, I fell into so much depression after you died, hell, our baby was born prematurely because of it and I don't even know what I would have done with her either. I don't think I would even have survived if Sabo hadn't found us. He saved us._

_Ace, I love you and I know I always will. You will be in my heart forever, no one can ever replace you, but you're not here anymore and it's okay for me to open up my heart to others too. Because you loved me, I know you want that for me so I don't even know why I'm apologising but I feel like I should tell you because I accept my own feelings._

_Even if I can't do something about it, this feeling is seeded inside me. I don't hate it so I'm going to let my heart feel everything that it wants to feel because I know what it was like to fall into the depression when the darkness overcame me. But he came. He was there to light the way for me, so hey, this feeling, I like it. That's okay, right, Ace? ♤_

The water around your eyes felt warm in the coldness of the sea, the warmth reminded you of Ace. You couldn't see your tears in the water but you could feel them warm against your skin as the cold seawater rushed past you. For a moment, as you closed your eyes feeling that heat, you imagined that he was here, watching over you looking at you, that he was raising one eyebrow in that sarcastic way that Ace always did and shrugging his shoulders. You weren't looking for his approval, but you just felt the need to let him know that even though he was gone you weren't completely lost.

_♤Thank you, Ace, because you were my first love.♤_

~  
Now that you had accepted your feelings, you needed to talk to someone about it. You went over to Koala's house that night, leaving Rouge with Nana and Sabo.

Koala opened the door for you and you ran up into her bedroom and threw yourself on the bed.

She and Robin came up to see what was going on.

"Y/N-chan, what's wrong?" Koala asked sitting on the bed.

"I'm in trouble. Can I sleepover here tonight?" You asked.

Koala looked even more confused than ever.

"I think she has something that she wants to tell us." Robin smiled knowingly. You blushed.

"Oh? What is it, Y/N-chan?" Koala asked.

You buried your face under a pillow and mumbled. "I think I'm falling in love with Sabo."

You peaked with one eye to gauge their reaction. Robin was chuckling as if she knew it all along. Koala's eyes were bulging out of their sockets and she had her mouth open in shock.

"I'm not one to hide or deny my own feelings, so this is something that I have accepted about myself." You said sitting up on the bed again.

"I'm really happy for you, Y/N, you have become a lot happier since the first time that we met." Robin said.

"Yeah, I was very depressed back then, but it's been seven months since Ace died, I can't be sad forever." You looked up.

"Have you told Sabo about it?" Robin asked again.

"No." You said and looked over at Koala, who was biting her lip, looking unsure. "I know what you're thinking, Koala."

"I didn't say anything." She said.

"You're his best friend, so I'm sure that you know. He doesn't show it in front of me but I know Sabo is still holding on to a lot of guilt when it comes to Ace's death. Me falling in love with him probably won't help things, right?" You asked quietly.

"I'm sorry, Y/N. It's not that I don't think he can't fall in love with you, honestly, it wouldn't surprise me one bit because he talks about you and Rouge so much...but I don't think that he will let himself." Koala sighed. "I've tried many times to tell him that it's not his fault you know. But it's really hard on him even after all this time."

You lay face up on the bed.

"I'm sorry, Y/N." Robin said.

"Don't be." You smiled. "My feelings haven't reached a point that I can't control them or anything. I'll just...look at him, I guess. It's just a spark, I'm sure that it will burn out as soon as I accept that it will never happen."

_♤That's true, right? I can get rid of them. I don't want to add up to his guilt.♤_

"Hey, I didn't say never!" Koala threw a pillow at you. "Just until he forgives himself."

"I don't have the patience to wait that long." You said dodging it. "I'm just glad to know that I'm not dead inside, you know."

"But will you be able to hide your feelings though? You're not very good at hiding how you feel." Robin pointed out.

"That's my mum's fault. She taught me never to suppress my feelings, even though I was shackled to a life where I had to hide who I was, she wanted me to have my emotions free." You sighed. "It'll be a little hard, but I can do it."

"If you're willing to do that, you must really like him." Koala smiled. "I could ask him for you, you know, plant the idea of the two of you getting together for real in his mind." She offered.

"No way." You refused. "What if he completely rejects the idea and..." You stopped. You did not want him putting any distance between the two of you.

Robin looked thoughtful. "It is beginning to look like it's not just a spark..." Koala nodded along with her.

"Are you two just teasing me now?" You asked suspiciously.

"Us? No way!" Koala giggled. And you threw back the pillow at her.

Somehow you both fell into a pillow fight like little girls much to Robin's amusement.

You really loved these girls.

***

Sabo was busy with paperwork for many days because there were refugees that needed to be moved and he was in charge of it this time. You didn't get to see him much over the next few days as you also spent most of your time at Mesland School.

One day, Kai dragged you excitedly to the training ground.

"Check this out, over the past month I have been honing my skills with a broadsword. Look at this move." Kai said and jumped into the air and swung his sword really fast cutting a few branches off a tree. You were barely able to follow his movement because he was so fast.

"Chief said that I should work on this, so I've been working on my speed. If I go faster then I'll be able to catch my opponents by surprise, so that's what I've been trying to do." He said, sitting down next to you. "Well, do you think he'll be impressed?"

"Uh, I'm definitely impressed, but well, I don't know anything about swordfights." You mumbled. "Why are you so intent on showing Sabo this?"

"He's one of the strongest fighters here. I just want to keep getting stronger, and if I have approval from him, I can join the army early." Kai said.

"Kai, don't rush it. You're only what, fourteen or fifteen? There's plenty of time." You told him.

"I know, but I feel kind of idle. Back when I woke up after you saved me from drowning, I thought everything was over, because I'd lost my memories." He said. "But Sabo-san was there for me, even though I was a stranger. Even though he also lost his memories, he still managed to grow strong enough to rise to this position. I really admire him."

You looked at the boy and smiled. "Sabo, is pretty amazing isn't he?"

"Yes, I am." A beautiful voice said from the doorway. "How am I amazing?"

You leapt to your feet, blushing. Sabo was standing there.

"Y-you misheard." You mumbled.

"She's been blushing like crazy the whole time since you guys came back, did you really take her on a romantic vacation, Chief?" Kai asked Sabo.

"Shut up, it wasn't a romantic vacation." You stuttered trying not to blush.

"It wasn't?" Sabo asked.

You turned sharply to him to see an amused look on his face. He was enjoying teasing you.

"I knew it!" Kai doubled over in laughter.

You cast him the scariest glare that you could muster.

He raised his hands in defeat. "I'm leaving, I'm leaving." He said and left.

Why was Sabo here? Did he come to visit you at work? The thought made you happy.

"How come you're here?" You asked.

"Nana is asleep, so I came to drop Rouge off because I have an emergency mission to go to." He said.

"Oh." You said. "Where's Rouge then?"

"Maya took her. I just wanted you to know that I'll be gone for a while and it's a pretty rural island where we're going so I may not be able to contact you for a while. I came to say goodbye in person." He said.

"What's the mission? Is it on the Grand Line?" You asked.

"Yeah. We got intel from Captain Runa, one of our undercover agents." He said. "Something's up, like the people on the island may have been researching ancient weapons. That seems to have upset the World Government. Koala and I are taking a team with us, we have to go and see if we can help in any way." He explained.

"Alright." You said.

Honestly, What had possessed you to think that he'd come to visit you?

Stupid hope.

"I guess I'll see you when you get back." You said.

He moved closer to you, and you looked anywhere but at him to calm your racing heart.

It didn't work.

With both his hands, he touched your arms, he put one hand on the side of each arm and your heart was overflowing by now from a simple touch like this.

He let go on one side, brushing your hair out of your face. You shivered. You didn't even know what you were expecting, he was just going away, he did this all the time, it was nothing new but lately you noticed that he touched you a lot. Or maybe it was just because you were noticing his touches more and reading too much into things.

You closed your eyes as he went for another forehead kiss. It wasn't the same as the first one because that one caught you by surprise, but this time the warmth of his lips lingered there, the warmth flowing down from your face all the way to your heart.

_♤ Why does it feel like this? I was lying to myself. There's no way I can give up on him. No way I can get rid of this feeling. How can I abandon my feelings if he keeps doing things like this? I don't want to.♤ _

You were totally going to fall, you felt completely restless, your knees weak. But it was almost as if he was expecting you to be like this, he didn't let go of your arms and kept holding you up.

He was smiling and for a moment you were so sure that he knew what he was doing to you but you didn't say anything, because that wouldn't make any sense. As soon as you had regained your composure, he waved and left.

***

The following two weeks continued like any other, simple, you spent your days at Mesland School, making food and watching the students train.

Kai was really good with his sword, and the person in charge of his training, Dinah's husband, Payo mentioned offhand that Kai would really benefit from some personalised training.

You were always a little frantic when you left the house, carrying a baby transponder snail with you all the time, and making sure that Nana had access to a transponder snail at home in case something happened.

"You're more paranoid than your brother." Nana murmured when she thought that you weren't listening.

You could not help it, you were worried.

Still, everything seemed fine, and calm and normal until one evening.

A frantic Koala burst into your house, breathing heavily. There was blood on her shirt and she looked scared.

You stopped between doing the dishes and looked at her. "Koala? What's wrong?"

She started crying, "I'm so sorry, Y/N!" She said. "Our information was right, Gedryo Island was being targeted by the World Government. Thanks to CP0, Fleet Admiral Akainu ordered a Buster Call on the island. We...Sabo-kun..."

Suddenly, dread crept up on you. "What happened?" You heard yourself ask.

"We were trying to get everyone out, and Sabo-kun...I did notice that we got away too easily but I didn't think..." She cried. "He held them back by himself, he tried to fight against five Vice Admirals by himself! If I'd known that he had stayed behind..."

The plate you were holding shattered to the floor. All of a sudden you remembered reading that article, and the horror your mind went through when you'd seen those words, 'Portgas D. Ace Arrested.'. Of course that had only been the beginning.

♤Not again. Not again. I can't go through that again!♤

You fell to the floor, shaking. He was alive, his voice had not disappeared. You knew that, but still, it was only a matter of time before he too...

"Where'd they take him? Impel Down?" Your voice shook.

"What? No. No. He barely escaped and we managed to retrieve him and flee from the Navy." Koala said. "He's here, Y/N." She put a hand on your shoulder.

The relief you felt was like water washing over you, but only for a moment. "Then, why are you crying?"

"It was five Vice Admirals, Y/N. Five. He was so badly hurt...we didn't have anyone skilled enough to operate on him on the ship! I thought he was going to die...he barely looked alive." She said. "He was unconscious the entire journey."

"Where is he now?" You asked, the fear coming over you again.

"He's at the hospital, at HQ. He is in critical condition."

***


	11. Distress and Desire

Hurriedly, you left Rouge at home, with Robin and Nana. The hospital at Headquarters was the biggest one on the island and it had the best doctors too. Sabo was currently in surgery, and you rushed towards the operating room in a hurry.

You sat there, trembling, outside the operating room. Koala sat with her hands buried in her hands and Hack sat next to her. Dragon-sama came by to check on the progress every hour. It was agonising, waiting there every hour, for over five hours.

"Y/N-san. I heard what happened, how are you feeling?" A voice asked and you turned to see Kai looking worried from the doorway.

"He's been in there for five hours, I..." Your voice cracked.

Kai came up and sat beside you and hugged you. You started crying, in your worried state, fear of losing someone else that you loved shaking you and the tears filling you.

"He'll be okay. Sabo-san is strong, he will be okay." Kai said, trying his best to comfort you.

An hour later the OR doors opened and you immediately stood up as the nurses moved the bed towards the Intensive Care Unit. The surgeon, Dr. Asahi, stood at the door.

"How is he?" Koala asked.

"Stable." She said. "His right arm is broken, his left lung was punctured by a sword and there are multiple blunt force trauma wounds on his torso and legs. It is a wonder that he made it here in one piece."

"But he's gonna be fine, right? You said he's stable." You said.

"Honestly, if it was anyone else, they wouldn't have survived the journey, much less the operation." She sighed. "I still need to monitor him, so noone can see him for the next week. I doubt he will wake up this week anyway."

"We can't see him?" You asked.

"I don't want anything to deter his progress. Until he gets out of the ICU, I want to keep him isolated." Dr. Asahi said.

"Well, at least let Y/N see him." Koala said. You turned to her in surprise. "Spouses should be allowed, right?"

"What?" The surgeon asked.

"She's the mother of his child, you have to let her in!" Kai said.

"Look, I'm sorry...I can't-"

"Let her in." A deep voice said from behind you. You all turned to see Dragon-sama standing there.

"But Dragon-san, it's not good for Sabo-san to be exposed to any external stress." Dr. Asahi said.

"I'm sure Sabo will appreciate her company. Let Y/N in." Dragon-sama ordered.

Dr. Asahi mumbled something about 'doctor's opinions not being considered' but grudgingly let you inside.

"Thank you, Dragon-sama." You said bowing, tears in your eyes.

The ICU had a few beds lined up along it, but on two were occupied. On one of them, Sabo lay unconscious. The sight of Sabo sleeping on the hospital bed, eyes closed and his breathing too shallow, was enough to send you into a frenzy. For the first time since you'd ever met the young man, he looked fragile.

His entire torso was covered in bandages, and a tube was connected to his chest. There were others, of course, tubes on his body connected to IV bags, constant infusions being fed into his body through the needles attached to his arm. His right arm was in a cast as well. It scared you, for a moment, to see someone so strong looking so pale. But you had promised not to freak out, so you didn't.

You sat down on the chair next to the hospital bed. You sat there and just watched him for what felt like hours. Nurses came and checked his IV bags continually and checked on his condition. Most of them gave you a reassuring look before they left.

Dr. Asahi was one of the only two available surgeons in all of Baltigo currently so she could not keep checking on him all the time, due to her other patients. For hours you sat there, refusing to move until a nurse forced you out so that you could eat.

As the day turned into night, you made no move to leave again. A good thing too, because all of a sudden, Sabo's face paled, and his lips turned blue. You screamed when he started comvulsing. His face was white and lifeless as his body shook. Three nurses dashed in.

"He's going into shock! Call Dr. Asahi!" One of them said and the other one pulled you outside as she paged the doctor.

"He...he's.." You trembled.

"Please calm down and wait patiently." The nurse said.

The others were still waiting outside, alarmed at your reaction and Robin was now there too, with Rouge.

"How is he? What's wrong?" Koala asked.

"I don't know...they said...shock...." You said slumping down in the chair.

Dr Asahi rushed past you, into the room as well, looking hurried.

As you waited, Kai brought you some food and you began forcing yourself to eat so that you could feed Rouge. Kai put a hand on your shoulder and squeezed. You blinked, and tears came from your eyes.

"I'm going to stay here overnight." You said. "Robin-san, can you please-"

"Don't worry. I'll stay with Nana and Rouge." She assured you.

You started crying again, and as if it was contagious, Koala started crying too. You squeezed Rouge in your arms as you fed her, but she did not cry. Robin sat between you and Koala and put her arms around both of you, pulling you closer to her as both of you cried. After you were all cried out, you stood up and handed Rouge to her.

"You should go home, Kai. It's dark outside." You said.

"But Y/N-san, I want to make sure that you're okay." He protested.

"I'll be fine." You forced a smile.

You thought back to when Sabo had started convulsing, and his skin had looked so lifeless that you were filled with fear. Would he make it? You wondered if Rouge would be able to live well after losing both her fathers, would you be able to look after her by yourself? You trembled, would you be able to overcome the depression that would come with losing Sabo? Would you be able to love again?

_♤I can't lose him. I won't be able to bear losing the man I love again.♤_

Dr. Asahi finally came out of the ICU, very late at night, and both you and Koala, hands held, stood up.

"We are done. Hopefully, the worst is over and he won't go into shock again." She said. "It will probably take at least three months for him to heal completely, but I think he should wake up in a week or so. Then we can move him out of the ICU."

You heaved a sigh of relief and both you and Koala hugged each other in joy.

"Can we go in and see him now?" You asked.

"It's not like he will wake up anytime soon." She huffed. "Fine. Go ahead."

"Me too?" Koala asked.

"Yes, before I change my mind." The surgeon sounded irritated.

"Thank you." Koala said and you both went inside.

Sabo was sleeping again, his breathing seemed steadier this time. You sat next to the bed, amd held his hand, but Koala sat at the back of the room, neither of you said anything.

Somehow, you must have dozed off from a lack of sleep the previous night, because you jolted awake when you felt a movement in Sabo's hand. His hand moved in yours and you looked at his face, wide eyed as his eyelids slowly opened.

The first thing that Sabo saw when he woke up, was your worried face. You were looking at him with such intensity that he frowned, not noticing the pain in his chest. He felt a little disoriented and heard the beeping of the hospital machines.

"I guess I'm alive." He tried to say, but it came out as a chocked whisper due to the pain in his chest.

Seriously, you thought, those were the first words he said? "Koala, get the doctor." You said and she stood up and hurried out. You squeezed Sabo's hand. "You scared the hell out of me." You fought back a tear.

"Sorry." He chocked and dissolved into a short coughing fit.  
Dr. Asahi came in with Koala and looked at her patient with disbelief. She had not expected him to wake up so soon.

"How are you awake?" She asked. "Have the anasthetics worn off already? Are you in pain?"

"Not really." Sabo told her.

Not believing him one bit, the doctor began he examination, you and Koala were forced to stay outside. Koala called Dragon-sama on the hospital's transponder snail and told him that Sabo was awake.

Dr. Asahi came out of the ICU looking defeated. "You won't believe this, but he's good to move into the normal ward now." She said.

"But you said he should stay here for at least another week!" Koala said.

"Any normal person would, but that guy is recovering at an alarmingly abnormal speed. I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it with my own eyes." The surgeon said shaking her head.

Sure enough, that afternoon Sabo was moved to a normal hospital room. The tube on his chest was gone, but he still had the cast on his arm and bandages all over his chest.

"I really had you worried this time, huh?" Sabo said quietly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so quick to put myself in harm's way."

"Sabo. Don't say sorry for something that you would do again. It's pointless." You frowned at him. "You would do it again, wouldn't you?"

He turned his face away, confirming your thoughts.

"I used to date a pirate, so I'm no stranger to caring for someone who lives every day with his life on the line. Or so I thought. I guess it is different because we live together, and I get to see you broken up like this..." You sighed.

"You know growing up, I used to wonder whether if I got hit too hard on the head I'd get my memories back. After all, trauma cancels out trauma right?" Sabo said. "Maybe that's why I was so reckless in my fights, always putting myself in dangerous situations. But even now, it seems like I still can't stop."

"It's not like you're actively seeking to get hurt." You told him.

"I defeated three of the Vice Admirals, but I was tired and wounded when I fought against the other two. For a moment, I thought I was going to die, I wouldn't have minded it if all the civillians and my comrades got out safely." He said, and he raised his unbroken arm and placed his hand on your cheek.

"But then I thought of you. Of how sad you would be without me here...I thought of the promise I made to you and Rouge, to myself and to Ace. Ace would never forgive me if I hurt you too, and I would never forgive myself if broke my promise to you. I couldn't leave you behind, so I somehow summoned the power to flee even with a gaping open wound in my chest. Because I realised that you and Rouge are the most important people in my life." Sabo whispered.

You leaned into his hand, and let his words flow over you. "Sabo..."

"I'm going to start training even harder now, so I can take on ten Vice Admirals, so I can fight evenly with Admirals, so I can be able to keep coming back home to you and Rouge." He added.

"I know I have no right to tell you how to live your life, but-" You started.

"You have every right." Sabo said. "I told you didn't I? You are my family."

You looked up at him, at the sincere look in his eyes.

"Then promise me this." You said. "Promise me that you won't die."

He blinked. "That's not really..." He started, but then he caught the sorrowful expression on your face, making him hesitate. His hand pulled your face closer to him, and he leaned closer, so that your foreheads were touching. "I promise. I won't die...at least, not before you."

You smiled in relief, but were barely able to savour the moment because a loud angry voice rang through the room.

"NO WAY!" Dr. Asahi shouted. "No getting frisky in my hospital! In fact, no getting frisky at all for the next month, mister!"

You blushed as you pulled away from Sabo, "That's not what we-"

"Don't lie to me." She said. "Here's your specially made food, Sabo-san." She said gesturing to the orderly behind her carrying a tray with two bowls in it.

The food was a vegetable and protein mashed porridge. It looked and probably tasted awful.

You fed Sabo slowly, and he seemed to find the food distasteful. "When can I eat some real food made by Y/N?" Sabo asked the doctor.

You looked up at the irritated doctor. "When you can digest it. I don't want you eating anything that would upset your stomach."

"Well then don't feed me...whatever this is." He mumbled.

Dr. Asahi was about to flare up again, so you diffused the situation. "I can talk to the nurse about the specifications of what he can and can't eat, I can make the food according to his dietary requirements." You said, and Sabo smiled, melting your heart.

The doctor muttered something about 'stupid young love' before she grudgingly agreed.

"So, doc, when can I start training again?" Sabo asked. Dr. Asahi left without dignifying that question with an answer.

~

Taking care of Sabo was no easy feat, especially since he kept insisting that he was fine and threatening to remove his bandages because they were itchy. He nearly drove Dr. Asahi mad.

You were usually able to calm him down by feeding him the food you made yourself, which he thoroughly enjoyed. You brought Rouge by to come and visit sometimes, which made both of them happy. Most of the times, however, Rouge stayed with Robin and Maya. Many of Sabo's friends and colleagues came to visit, expecting to find a sick man lying in bed, but instead found a bored man itching to get out of the hospital and start training.

Two weeks.

That was all the time it took Sabo to completely heal from injuries that should have taken at least three months to heal. Dr. Asahi gave up on trying to explain how his body worked, and just discharged him instead.

"Aren't you happy to be going home?" You asked him, as you noticed him sulking.

"He's sulking because Dragon-san won't let him go on any field missions any time in the next month. He's on vacation." Koala laughed.

"Tch. I didn't even know that we had sick leave!" Sabo frowned.

"On the bright side, you can focus on your training for a while." You pointed out.

"You're right." He brightened up and stood up. "Let's go home!"

"Finally, your fangirls are gonna stop asking me to bring you 'Get well soon' cards." Koala sighed as Sabo stood up while you made sure nothing was getting left behind.

"I don't have fangirls." Sabo said. "They are just people who worry about me."

"Come on, Sabo. I kept getting the stinkeye from lots of your admirers when I first got here." You said finishing up. "You're just a little too dense to tell if someone likes you."

"That's right." Koala laughed. "Come on, lets go." She said getting out of the room.

"I'm not, you know." Sabo said walking to the door.

"Not what?" You asked.

"Completely dense." He said, and left.

As you followed after him, your thoughts were all over the place.

_♤What does that mean? Does he mean it in a general sense or specifically to me? Does this mean that he knows how I feel? Is he acknowledging my feelings? Am I jumping into conclusions?♤_

You were consumed by your thoughts the whole way home.

***

Koala came over the day after Sabo was discharged. She seemed to have something she wanted to say.

"What?" Sabo asked.

"Your actual birthday is in a couple of days, right, I bought you this, since you can celebrate it this year." Koala said handing him an envelope.

"That's right." Sabo said. "I know when my birthday is now. What's this?" He said opening the envelope.

"A gift card voucher. Restaurant Lunacarda opened a week ago, it is directly opposite Hotel Lunacarda in Genshou Island. I got that for you to have fun there on your birthday." She said proudly.

"This must have been expensive. You shouldn't have." Sabo said.

"It was a voucher, quite cheap. The catch is you have to bring a date." She said.

"I see." Sabo said, and turned to you. "What do you say, wanna come with me to Hotel Lunacarda to try out their new restaurant? I'd really like to celebrate my birthday with you."

_♤Does he realise what this sounds like? Is he asking me out on a date or does he just want to be in my company on his birthday?♤_

From behind Sabo, Koala winked, and gave you a thumbs up.

You smiled. She wasn't just doing this for Sabo, she was doing it for you too.

"I'd love to." You said.

~

The two of you set out a few days later, to Genshou Island. It was not too far from Baltigo, and this island was where you usually came to do your shopping.

From the Genshou Harbour, you were able to find Hotel Lunacarda pretty easily. It was a large brick hotel, the design was vintage and the lobby was shaped like a crescent moon. You waited while Sabo changed your accommodation from one large suite, to two separate rooms.

"The double room would have been bigger, but I didn't want you to be uncomfortable." Sabo said, when you finally entered your room.

It was small, but beautiful in its charcoal colour, a simple double bed took up most of the room, and the bathroom wasn't much either, but it was cosy.

"It's fine Sabo." You said putting your bag down on the table.

He nodded. "Alright. Our reservation is for 7PM, so you can rest now, I'll meet you at the hotel lobby at 6: 40." After you agreed, he left.

You were not about to rest at all. You didn't care if he didn't see it that way, but today was your first date, and you wanted to look your best. How was he supposed to notice you, if you didn't try? You took out the red dress that you had bought a few months ago when you went shopping with Robin and Koala. It was going to be very tight.

You didn't put on too much make up, just enough to enhance your looks, you fixed up your hair as well, until you were satisfied with it.

Zipping up your dress proved to be the hardest thing you had ever done in your life, you had to bend over unnaturally to get it right. Inwardly, you cursed whoever made these dresses.

You then put Sabo's gift in your purse, and headed out to the lobby.

~

You sat down by the benches in the hotel lobby, waiting for Sabo. The sun was just about done setting outside and you suddenly got goosebumps on your skin thinking about the time that Sabo took you to see the sunset on Momoiro Island. A small smile came up on your lips as you remembered that day. It was the day that you finally realised your feelings for Sabo.

"You aren't shy at all, are ya?" A male voice said. You looked up to see a stranger. The man looked to be in his forties, spotting a pink beard as he looked down at you.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" You asked.

The man laughed. "Don't play dumb with me, girlie." He grinned. "You were smiling and blushing at me when I was over there. You're a pretty lady, so why don't you come back to my hotel room with me?"

You sighed. It served you right for not paying attention to your surroundings. You stood up, and were face to face with the man. "Sorry, you must have seen wrong."

"Come now. You don't have to act all coy now." He said grabbing your arm, hard.

Over the past months, spending your time at Baltigo, you had nearly forgotten how it felt to be harassed like this. Luckily, you had a solution just for this kind of situation. "I'll only ask nicely, once. Let me go." You said.

"Or what?" The pink bearded idiot said.

"Come closer. I'll whisper it into your ear." You said with a fake smile.

"Oooh.." The man said leaning closer to you in anticipation.  
You took a deep breath, and you screamed into his ear in the highest note you could muster without breaking the windows.

You couldn't make crazy sonic waves on land, but you were still a trained singer after all, and you had put in a lot of effort. He fell to the ground, eyes wide open as he clutched his ear, which was bleeding, no doubt you had destroyed his eardrum.

You didn't have to use such a high pitch of course, but when he had touched you, you had been able to feel his disgusting lust emanating from his skin. Usually, you could control your observation when it came to reading people's emotions, but sometimes you could still feel them if they overflowed, especially with touch.

You hummed Nana's song 'Sunshine' so that you could keep yourself from hearing any other inner voices.

"I was about to intervene, but, it looks like you had it covered." You heard Sabo's voice behind you.

"Hey, Sabo." You smiled. "You're late."

It was not fair. How could formal clothes follow the outline of his body so well, like they were made just to fit him? How could the dark blue of the suit, accentuated by the white shirt inside, complement the blue of his eyes so well? How come he was able to carry himself like this, like it meant absolutely nothing to him that he looked so good? How could he not know how he was making you feel right now?

Sabo's eyes widened when he saw you too. "Oh wow. You look amazing, Y/N." He said, his eyes following the dark red tight fitting dress that was so hard to walk in that you had settled for short wedges instead of heels.

_♤I will gladly suffocate in this dress all night if it means you will be looking at me like that.♤_

"Thank you. You don't look bad yourself. And don't think I didn't miss the surprise in your voice." You smiled.

"And there it is. The smile that completes the look." He said.

He handed you a single rose, and you giggled. "Thanks."

"Shall we?" He extended his arm, and you took it. He led you down to the restaurant.

The atmosphere in the fine dining restaurant was quiet, calm and formal, with soft music playing in the background.

Always the gentleman, Sabo pulled out your chair for you.

"Thank you. Are you sure that you should be using that arm though?" You asked. He had only taken off the cast a few days ago.

"Don't worry. I'm fine." He assured you sitting across from you. "I'm fine."

The waiter came not long after that, and took your orders. It did not take too long for your food to arrive.

Honestly, although the food was good, and Sabo ate like a normal person rather than an animal, the only things that stuck to your memory that night were the conversations the two of you had.

It was almost strange how easy it was for you two to fit into this kind of society of the rich and privileged, those who squandered their fortune with meaningless niceties. Perhaps it was because you were both noble born.

"I wonder, do you think that if both of us hadn't run away from home, we'd still have met somehow?" You asked.

Sabo looked at you thoughtfully. "I always dreamed of travelling around the world. Who knows, maybe I would have ended up at the North Blue, at a certain island, maybe visited the Tombe Kingdom."

You smiled, and without thinking, you said: "If I saw you, I would probably have fallen for you, and run away with you on the spot."

You blinked, but there was no taking back those words. You looked up at him fearfully, hoping he had missed them somehow, but still, if he could already tell how you felt, wasn't it pointless?

His face was unreadable, and he chose instead to stuff food into his mouth. You watched him for a couple of minutes, and were convinced that he wouldn't answer. But he did answer, quietly.

"I probably would have let you come."

_Thump._

_Thump._

_♤Does he realise what he just said? Does he mean he would have saved me, or that he would have fallen for me too? Is this just a friendly gesture, or doe he...have feelings for me too...? No. Don't jump into conclusions, I'm sure that he doesn't-♤_

"What did you do to the guy in the lobby?" Sabo broke into your thoughts.

"Um.." You took a deep breath. "I ruined his hearing for life. There's no way his eardrum will ever be able to heal completely from that attack."

"He was harassing you, so you screwed up his hearing?" Sabo asked. Then he looked at you in fake fear. "You're a dangerous woman, Y/N."

You smiled. "As long as you know it."

The way he said it made you heat up inside. He wasn't flirting with you. You knew this. And yet, that's what it felt like.

"He's lucky you dealt with him first. I would probably have crushed his throat." He said drinking his wine. "Does that happen often to you?"

"Not so much lately, but I learned the hard way not to trust any man that wanted to be close to me." You put down your fork and reached for some water.

"I was twelve when I ran away from home, and I was all alone in the Grand Line. All I wanted was to sing, to let my feelings fly free like my mom and Nana taught me. Unfortunately, the only places that I could sing and make decent money were bars. Even though I was just a young teenage girl, I wasn't safe from creeps. Wherever I sang and danced, I could hear their thoughts, feel their feelings regarding me. I was in a dark place, and I thought about going back home, but one day, members of the Revolutionary Army passed by the island where I was staying and secretly distributed copies of 'A Perfect World.' That book gave me the strength and comfort I needed to accept my decision. Back then is when I learned to perfect the art of constantly keeping a song running in my head, to keep myself from hearing people's voices." You had not meant to ramble, but for some reason, you wanted him to know who you were.

"I'm sorry, if only you had been able contact any member of the Revolutionary Army, they could have relocated you to a better place." Sabo said.

"You can't save everyone, Sabo. I was fine, I worked as a waitress too, so I just taught myself to distrust all strange men. As long as I went through life thinking that I had to be wary of any strangers who tried to get close to me because they could be after my body, I was okay. I didn't trust anyone." You said. "I don't regret it, though, because if I hadn't prevailed, I wouldn't have been hired by Issaquah Lounge...and I never would have met Ace, never had Rouge...and I would never have met you. My life wasn't perfect, but I don't have many regrets either."

"I'm glad. I wish that I had less regrets." Sabo sighed. "The guilt and the self blame, I was able to bear it all because of you. Because you gave me a chance to be forgiven. I helped you, just to make myself feel better. I'm sorry." He said.

"I don't think that's true." You smiled. "You helped us because you wanted to. Don't beat yourself up over every little thing."

He smiled up at you, and since you were both done with your food, Sabo took your hand, and after finishing up with the payments, you both walked towards the hotel. He covered you with his jacket to keep you warm outside. You did not need it though.

The feeling of his hand in yours made you your heart beat very faster, heating you up so intensely that you became sweaty, and you knew that he could feel it, but he said nothing. You both stopped just outside the hotel and Sabo looked at you.

You reached into your purse and took out the gift. You clasped the silver seaweed bracelet on on his wrist. From the moment you had seen it in a jewellery store, you'd wanted to give it to him, to remind him of you.

"Happy Birthday." You said.

"Thank you." He smiled. "I'm able to celebrate my birthday for the first time in eleven years. Spending the day with you is the best gift I have received." He told you as you stood outside the hotel.

His eyes were glossy, and you reached out to touch his left eye without thinking, hoping to catch the tears that fell from that scarred eye. But just as you were an inch away from brushing the wavy blond hair covering his eye, he stepped back.

"We should go inside." He said turning his back on you, but still not letting go of your hand. You didn't say anything and just let him lead you into your hotel room.

"Call me when you finish changing. I'll stay with you until you fall asleep." Sabo said, and stood outside your room.

You were slightly tired as you stood inside the room, alone. You turned on the lights and started trying to get your dress off. You tugged on the zip, trying to open it, but it was hard to do so because the zip was very hard to both zip up and unzip as you had learned earlier, and the dress was tight.

You hesitated, as a thought came to you.

"Sabo, can you please help me out here?" You called.

He opened the door and looked inside. "Everything okay?" He asked.

"Um...can you please pull down the zip on this dress...please?" You asked.

He raised his eyebrows and then came in. The zip went from the top of your back down to your waist.

"Not used to fancy clothing I see." He teased, coming to stand behind you.

"I'll have you know that I was born to the Tombe royal family, I've worn far more expensive clothing." You said.

He smiled. "You know, my parents always wanted me to marry a princess when I was growing up." Sabo said.

"Well, then you better play your cards right." You didn't mean to flirt with him, you just couldn't help yourself. He didn't respond, but only chuckled and you could not see his reaction as he was behind you.

You felt him slowly unzip the dress from the nape of your neck, down to the small of your back.

You had honestly expected him to only bring the zip down a little, to a point where you could reach so you could finish up yourself.  
But he'd kept going all the way to the end. You felt relief as you were able to breathe easily now that the dress was no longer too tight on you.

You held your breath, however, when Sabo did not move even with his task done. With the back of the dress open, he would be able to see the scales on your back, something that you never let people see. In fact, he was only ever the fifth person in the world to see that part of you. You weren't ashamed of it or anything, but after years of keeping your mermaid side hidden, it made you uncomfortable to have anyone see your scales.

You nearly jumped, but stayed completely still, when you felt his hand brush against the scales. Sabo's fingers were cold, so you shivered slightly at the unexpected touch. And yet heat crept into your skin at the contact, and you felt undeniably weak.

"Sabo." You whispered.

Immediately, the movement ceased. You didn't dare to turn around, as you felt him step back.

You stood still and did not let up until you heard his footsteps disappear with the sound of the door closing. You collapsed onto the bed, your heart shaking furiously in its cage.

_♤What is the meaning of this?♤_

Sabo sank down the wall, and sat with his face in his hands, beside your door. How could he have been so careless, especially after what you'd told him tonight? He had already decided that he was not going to anything, so why was it harder for him to keep himself in control in your presence?

After changing into something comfortable enough to sleep in, you walked towards the door and stood there. You knew that he was outside there.

"Sabo?" You called.

For a moment, you thought he would not respond, but then he whispered something, his voice so low that you barely heard him.

"I'm sorry."

You sighed. You knew that you weren't going to get any kind of explanation from him, if anything, he was most likely feeling guilty for touching you like that. You also knew that now was probably the only time he would talk about it.

"It's okay. I trust you, Sabo."

Since he didn't reply, you went back to your bed. You were able to fall asleep after a while, because you could tell that he was still outside your door, waiting for you to fall asleep.

Neither of you mentioned the events of the previous night the next morning. In fact, your conversations were eerily too normal.

***


	12. Don't Trust Me

Even after returning home, neither of you mentioned what happened at the hotel at all. It had to mean something, but Sabo was unwilling to talk about it, so you let it go too.

Dragon-sama took on a lot of outside work, a lot more than usual since Sabo was on sick leave. Robin accompanied him on a lot of his journeys, citing a desire to learn from him as her reason.

Since Dragon-sama was off the island a lot, Sabo was in charge at Headquarters. He was the one in charge of the entire island, so even though he had no missions, he was always busy as the month went by. But even though he was so busy, even though he worked so hard all day, somehow he always managed to come home every night to eat your food, to talk and to hold Rouge.

To sit with you until you fell asleep.

The relationship between the two of you definitely wasn't the same. Something was different and something had changed. It was the way that he acted towards you, it was very different, and he laughed more around you. You thought he seemed to enjoy your company more, but maybe it was wishful thinking.

On the days that he wasn't busy at the Headquarters, Sabo was concerned only with training because in his own words, "I want to get stronger to be able to protect everyone without getting hurt myself. The Reverie is only a little over a year away, I need to be ready to face stronger opponents."

He was training harder ever since his injury, and Dr. Asahi had given up on telling him not to overexert his body.

A surprising thing happened in the middle of the next month, Kai came up to you after you were done with work at Mesland School.

"I need your help." He said. "I was talking to Master Payo, I'm done with basic training, but I'm not suited for fishman karate." He said.

"Oh, I see. Payo did say he was thinking of getting you special training because you're ahead of your class." You said.

"That's actually what I want to talk to you about. May you please help me to ask Sabo-san to train me, so I can get stronger like him?" He asked.

You raised your eyebrows, surprised. "Of course. But he's very busy so I don't know if he'll have time." You warned. "But why did you choose him?"

"Because he's someone whose strength I admire and respect." He told you.

"Alright then, I'll take you to him. Come on."

"Thank you, Y/N-san." He said.

You drove home with Kai on the winrot. When you arrived home, Sabo had just finished doing some paperwork and was playing with Rouge while Nana was asleep in her room.

"Hey." You smiled, taking Rouge from him.

"Oh. Y/N, you're back and Kai's with you." Sabo commented.

"Good evening, Sabo-san." Kai said.

"What's up?"

"Kai has something that he wants to ask you." You said.

Sabo crossed his arms. "No, he can't have you."

"I see you're feeling very lonely and paranoid being on vacation well Y/N-san is still working." Kai mocked.

"This kid is just as cheeky as always. What do you need?" Sabo asked standing up. "Why are you suddenly nervous?"

"You know about special training at Mesland School, right?" Kai asked nervously.

"Well yeah, that is the standard here. If they think you're promising to be more than just a regular Revolutionary Army soldier, they'll let you get a mentor, for special training. What about it?" Sabo asked.

"Master Payo advised me that I should consider getting some special training for myself if I want to join the army earlier than usual, because I'm already ahead of so many people my class even though I only joined a few months ago." Kai explained.

All of a sudden, Kai fell to the ground on his knees, his head on the floor.

"Sabo-san, can I be your disciple? Please teach me!" He said.

Sabo was surprised, clearly not expecting this. "You want me to train you?"

"Yes sir."

"You do know that my vacation, as you put it, is ending pretty soon. I don't get to spend a lot of time here, so that means that if you do decide to train with me it will not be plenty of sessions but few, extremely intense sessions?" He said.

"That is fine with me, sir." Kai said.

"I don't think you get it. I was a strong child too when I came here. Like you, I didn't know who I was but I was pretty damn strong and I surpassed all my teachers in a little time. That's why Dragon-san took me under his wing and trained me himself. His methods of training are even more terrible than Old man Garp's, which is saying something. That's how I trained, and so I'll probably be hard on you too. That doesn't scare you?" Sabo told him.

"If I can attain even half the strength that you have, that's good for me. I do not fear breaking my body." Kai said determined. 

"Why do you require this strength? Why are you so determined to join the army?" Sabo asked.

"The Revolutionary Army saved me when my village was burning. I don't remember it, but I know that much. On our way here, when we got caught in the storm, Y/N-san saved me from drowning. When I despaired because I didn't have my memories anymore, because I thought I'd lost all hope, you came to me and assured me that I can still pick my life back up and maybe someday my memories will return." Kai looked up.

"Sabo-san, you told me that losing my memories is not the end of the world, that this place is my new home. I know that you are the people that saved me and I respect all of you. But," Kai paused, his face suddenly turned red. "I respect you the most, Sabo-san, because you were like me, and you became so strong. I want you to train me because this place is my home now and I want to be strong enough to protect it, I want to be strong enough to protect the people who protected me and I want to be strong enough to save others like Y/N-san saved me. I want to join the army and help in the fight."

"Are you prepared to risk your life? To live everyday with your life on the line? You can be caught by the World Government and executed. It's very easy." Sabo warned the boy.

"I understand. I'm willing to put my life on the line."

"Stand up." Sabo ordered. "Very well then, Kai, I shall train you."

The younger boy's face lit up and he smiled. "Thank you, sir... no thank you Sabo-sensei."

"Good. I want you to run from Mesland School to here and then back from 3AM tomorrow, until I tell you to stop." Sabo said, much to Kai's horror. He was clearly going to enjoy this.

~

Sitting at the veranda of the house with Rouge after school, watching Sabo and Kai train, became your favourite pastime.

You smiled when he told Kai to do something, practicing certain techniques with his sword that Sabo blocked easily with his pipe. It was entertaining to watch him whack the boy with his pipe for every single mistake.

Sabo would also be doing some training of his own, mostly practicing with his Haki, meditating to improve his observation or smashing things to improve his armament.

Even doing simple things like push-ups or lifting weights, was fascinating to watch. He never wore anything sleeveless, but mostly a short sleeved shirt which failed to hide the flexing of his lean muscle as he trained.

It was wonderful.

***

Sabo returned to work a month later.

A few weeks after that, Rouge struggled with her teething. It was a nightmare, she had a fever, she wouldn't sleep and she cried all the time. If it weren't for the medicine that you had gotten from Tiffany at Momoiro Island, you didn't know how you could have calmed her.

As if things couldn't get any worse, Nana had another heart attack. She had to rest in bed, and take short exercises periodically.

Nana's condition seemed to be getting worse, it did not seem to matter whether you gave her her medicine or not, the swelling in her feet seemed to not want to go down. She could only take walk a with someone holding her hands.

You became very scared, as you could see the dwindling in her breathing. She was the person who raised you after all.

Sabo was a great help to you with everything in the few times he came home. When you were looking after Nana, he took care of Rouge, and when you were looking after Rouge, he took care of Nana.

But Dr. Mansfield's words chilled you to the core when he was leaving after examining Nana. "Listen, I told you before that she wouldn't survive another heart attack...but I'm sure now, if she has another one, it will definitely be the last."

That night you got into Nana's bed, sleeping next to her. Even though she had taken her medicine, she was still struggling to breathe. It was scary so you held on to her tightly, so you could feel the struggle in her chest as she breathed.

"How is Rouge?" She asked.

"She's just teething. It will be fine, she'll get better." You whispered. "You'll get better too."

"Always the optimist, I see." She sighed. "But we both know that won't happen."

"Nana, don't." You pleaded, tears running down from your eyes.

"Idiot. You shouldn't cry now. I'm not dead yet." She scolded you.

You pouted.

"You've lived without me before, so I'm sure you'll be fine again."

You started singing, "Sunset, sunset little bit of sunshine..." to block out her words.

"I'm glad that you have a family of your own now, defying the will of your grandparents." She whispered before falling asleep.

But somehow in the midst of so much adversity, Sabo remained a crutch for you, an anchor to hold on to in times of trouble. Loving him, brought you a sense of hope and peace.

***

Sabo was on a mission on the day of the anniversary of Ace's death.

You sat in the veranda, watching the ocean with your daughter, after paying your respects to Ace, thinking of how things were a year ago.

You were suddenly reminded of the last time that you ever spoke to Ace, the day before he died.

_♤"_ _Don't_ _ do it, Y/N! You know how much this will affect you! _ _You've_ _ never done it on such a scale!" Nana pleaded with you as you filled the bathtub with water._

_"_ _This_ _ is the last chance I could ever have to talk to him!" You said. "My mind can take it!"_

_"It's not just your mind anymore. Do I need to remind you that _ _you're_ _ pregnant? _ _You_ _ will be a mother soon! You _ _can't_ _ behave so selfishly!" Nana snapped._

_You __looked_ _at__ her fiercely. "I know that! __That's__ why __I'm__ not __marching__ straight into Impel Down myself! I am holding myself back right now!" _

_"Y/N-"_

_"Close _ _the_ _ door on your way out." You spat, and with a defeated sigh, Nana left you in the bathroom alone._

_You closed your eyes, and _ _sank_ _ into the water. Ideally, seawater would be the best, but this would have to do since you lived on top of a mountain. You let the water fill you and overflow through you, and _ _concentrated_ _._

_You finally stopped the song that you __constantly_ _hummed in your head to keep your observation haki in check. You let go of the control, and let your mind open to_ _the__ rest of the world._

_Almost immediately, a flood of thoughts, voices, from the people in _ _the_ _ village below the mountain rushed into your head, you were suddenly filled with a _ _thousand_ _ foreign thoughts invading your mind. _

_You held your hands together and _ _concentrated_ _ on separating the thoughts that _ _you_ _ were hearing, your own thoughts from those of others. It had been a long time since you had allowed yourself _ _to_ _ hear the voices of others so it was a little difficult at first, but you finally managed to separate _ _them_ _._

_You knew the general direction of Impel Down from here, so you let your mind follow the voices in the distance, and then you followed the sound of fish and sharks underwater, until your mind connected to a person inside the undersea prison._

_But the voices in that place were too much _ _for_ _ you to bear. The prisoners screamed, they wailed out loud, the _ _sounds_ _ of pain and torture overwhelmed your mind, and because of the empathy in you, and due to the fact that _ _you_ _ had opened up your mind, you could feel their pain, as if it was your own._

_You screamed and thrashed around in the water, but still _ _you_ _ would not stop. Not until you had spoken to Ace. You decided to do something even more dangerous for you, just to keep yourself from feeling their pain, you connected to the mind of a young female prison guard._

_You chose to see through her mind because she seemed to be high ranking. Her name was Domino, and using all your might, you controlled her mind to lead you to Ace's cell._

_It was in the lowest level of the prison that you finally found him. Ace was bound in chains, looking haggard, and _ _beaten_ _ up. You crouched down behind the bars, and spoke with Domino's body._

_"Ace."_

_He looked up, and glared at you. "What do you want?" He snapped._

_"Ace, _ _it's_ _ me. Y/N." You whispered. _

_The look in his eyes changed, he dragged the chains forward, nearly waking his cellmate, and stood right in front of you._

_"How do you know that name?!" He barked._

_You began to feel your mind slipping, but there was no way that you would stop now. _

_"I told _ _you_ _. _ _It's_ _ me. I came to see you." You said breathing heavily. _

_"Y/N?" He said in surprise. His eyes softened, and his hands trembled. "Wait! What are you doing? Are you trying to kill yourself? This is going to destroy you, you know this, why would you-"_

_"I _ _wanted_ _ to see you." You repeated. You did not add, 'for the last _ _time'_ _ but it was heavily implied. "_ _Don't_ _ send me back."_

_You wanted to reach out, to _ _touch_ _ him, but even if you did, you would not be able to feel it. The only thing you _ _could_ _ do was look at his face._

_A tear dropped from one of his eyes. "I was afraid _ _I'd_ _ never get to say goodbye to you. Thank you for coming."_

_Even though it was now physically hurting you to keep using this body, you held on._

_You wanted to tell him to live, to come back to you, not to leave you behind. But you knew that he would never make that kind of promise to you, not when he couldn't keep it._

_"I...missed you..." You said instead._

_"I missed you too." He smiled._

_You _ _couldn't_ _ bear it anymore. "Ace, I can't-"_

_"Come on. I already prepared you for something like this, __didn't_ _I__?" He reminded you. "You have to keep your promise."_

_There was no way in _ _hell_ _ you would be able to forget him like that. No way you wouldn't cry for him for months. "I promise." You lied._

_"Good. Because, you brought so much into my life. I struggled a lot with the question of whether someone like me should have been born or not, growing up. But I met people who loved me in spite of my parentage. Gramps, _ _my_ _ brothers, the people who raised me, my crew and Pops and our entire family. I was content with that much." Ace gripped the chains holding him tightly, and barely contained the tears coming from his eyes._

_"I never, in my life, thought _ _I'd_ _ fall in love. Ever. But then you came to me, and you broke through the shell _ _I'd_ _ encased myself in, and gave me that kind of love. So, _ _I'm_ _ grateful that I got to experience so many new things with you. Your love means the world to me." He cried._

_And then you started crying too. "Idiot. _ _You're_ _ the one who taught me how to love, _ _I'm_ _ the one that should be thanking you." You said._

_"Enough crying. You should return to your body before it is too late." He sighed. "The last time I saw you, you said you had something important to say to me. What is it?"_

_You had wanted to tell him that you were pregnant, but how could you say that to a man faced with death? How could you add another yoke to his neck?_

_"I love you." You said. _ _ _"I'll miss you, Ace."_ _

_ _"I love you too. Take care of yourself." He said. "Goodbye, Y/N."_ _

_ _You finally let go._ _

_ _Given how much you had exerted tour mind, you fell into a coma for the next week and a half. Even in that state, you felt it when he died, his voice disappeared, forever. _ _

_ _You were ready to die too then, to put an end to your life, and join him along with your unborn child, such was the depression that you fell into._ _

_ _You probably would have actually died if it weren't for Nan who kept you alive. Even when you woke up, you were depressed, and the stress on your mind and _ _ _ _body_ _ _ _ caused your hormones to fluctuate, leading to a premature birth.♤_ _

_~_

Ring, ring, ring, ring. Gotcha.

"Sa-chan"

"How many times must I tell you not to call me that?" Sabo said on the other end of the call.

"Sorry. I can't help it." You said.

Honestly, you had not known if he would contact you today, but you'd kept the transponder snail with you anyway.

"Sure. Are you feeling alright?" He asked.

"I'm feeling better now." You said honestly.

"Because I called?"

"Yes."

"Do you need to talk? I'll listen to whatever you have to say. I know today must be really hard for you." He said quietly.

You smiled slightly, watching as Rouge crawled across the veranda to you.

"I lit a lantern for him, and Rouge and I were just watching it drift away in the sea." You said.

"Next year, I promise, I'll take you to his grave. You can pay your respects to him properly." Sabo promised. "I'm sorry that I'm not there in person."

"It's fine Sabo. I'm not crying. I promised Ace I wouldn't be sad for too long. I'm just missing him a little more than usual today." You said.

"I see. As long as you're not feeling too bad, that's good."

"What about you? To be honest, I'm a lot more worried about you than myself." You asked him.

The surprise was evident in Sabo's voice. "Me, why?"

Rouge held on to your chair, standing on her legs, and using the chair to balance. She reached for the snail where she could hear Sabo's voice from. It made you smile.

"I, at least, got to say goodbye. You gained and lost your brother all at once." You said. "If _yo_u need to talk, I'm listening."

Silence.

"You really don't blame me, do you?" He asked quietly. "For not going to save him?"

"Of course not. You're too hard on yourself, Sabo. I know you'd have gone if you could!" You said.

"You are not hard enough on me. If you knew the things I was thinking today...if you..." He sighed. "I'll be home for Rouge's birthday."

He changed the subject again.

"Alright, I think she'll be glad." You said.

Gotcha.

***

**East Blue: Loguetown**

"I don't get why I get dragged around with you all over the East Blue searching for some relic!" Koala complained.

"I'm sorry." Sabo said looking around the tiny shop. "This is important for me, okay. I have to get Rouge a meaningful gift."

"She's a baby, Sabo-kun!" Koala sighed. "We could have been home a week ago, but instead we've been to shady shop after shady shop! I mean don't you wanna be with Y/N today, of all days?"

Sabo stiffened. "Today, is the one day that I should not be with her."

"Sabo-kun. I'm sure that she needs you, and you need some comfort too."

"You know, I had a dream last night. That last year, on this date, I went to Marineford and I was able to save Ace." He said.

"Oh, it must have hurt when you woke up and it was just a dream." She sympathised.

"Yes." Sabo said and turned his face away from his best friend in shame. "But the thing I was most upset about when I woke up...was that I brought him back to her."

Koala gasped. "Oh." She said. "That's-"

"Terrible? I know. If I was with her today, I don't know if I'd be able to bear it if the pain of losing him still hurts her a lot." He put his face in his hands. "But what if she's less upset than I expected? If that makes me happy, all the guilt and self loathing would intensify. I don't hate myself enough to go through all that."

"Sabo-kun, are you okay?" She was legitimately concerned now.

"I'm a terrible brother. I'm being cruel to Y/N too. The least I can do, is be a good father to Rouge." He said with a strained smile. "Let's find it. The perfect gift."

***

As promised, Sabo returned home the following week.

Against Sabo's protests, Rouge spent the afternoon of her first birthday with her aunts, Robin and Koala, who took her shopping at Genshou Island, buying her new clothes and feeding her a little cake.

They insisted that it was to give you a day to relax without worrying about her, but you knew that they just wanted to spoil that little baby rotten.

Still, a day to relax didn't sound too bad. You took your towel, and went to the seaside, specifically on the side that you knew the window to Sabo's bedroom was. You knew that the chances of him watching you were slim, but you couldn't help wanting to be seen by him.

You knew that he had been enchanted by your mermaid form the first time that he'd seen it, and you wondered if you could use it against him.

_♤Yeah, right. Snap out of it.♤_

You could wear a bikini now, after all, you weren't nursing that much anymore. Still, you were wearing an old bikini from before you got pregnant, so it was unsurprising that the top was a little tight around your breasts, showing more cleavage than was necessary.

You didn't mind it though, it's not like anyone was watching. And if he was, well... lucky him.

You swam in the sea, and then you leapt up out from the water. You felt like a dolphin dancing in the air, before diving back into the water.

You leapt up again, this time higher, you spread out your hands, like you were flying. You laughed out loudly and shook the water out of your hair. Your tail curled up and almost turned back into legs again before you dove back into the sea.

You were truly at home down here, flowing with the water, surfacing only to smile again. Certainly, there was no better freedom for you.

After you were done, you stretched, and then covered yourself before going back to the house. With your towel wrapped around you, you made your way back into the house after a refreshing swim.

You were surprised to be met by Kai at the door.

"Good afternoon, Y/N-san." He smiled.

"Hey. Are you here to train? Shouldn't you have started earlier?" You asked. It was unusual for him to start in the late afternoon like this, Sabo insisted on torturing him from the early morning hours.

"I know." Kai shook his head. "But Sabo-sensei called me. He said something about wanting to let off steam or releasing pent up energy or something. I'm sure it's all just an excuse to whack me on the head with his pole."

You laughed, and turned as you heard Sabo coming down the stairs.

"Kai, come on, let's go." He said. For some reason, he seemed determined not to look at you. If anything, his face looked flushed as he hurriedly took his student outside.

He was so flustered. You giggled as you wondered if he'd seen you at sea after all.

~

Robin and Koala brought Rouge back along with a ton of gift bags later that day. Your daughter looked very happy, laughing at nothing in particular, so you knew that she had fun.

After thanking the two ladies, you started working on dinner.

As it was getting late, you went outside.

"Why don't you boys wash up and come inside, now. I'm almost done making dinner." You called to the two who were still training even though the sun had set.

"Kai would you like to stay for dinner?" You asked.

"Really? I don't know." The boy hesitated. "Sensei said today is your anniversary and your daughter's birthday. I don't wanna intrude in your family."

_♤Anniversary? _ _That's_ _ right. Today marks a year to the day we met. It seems like forever ago.♤_

Sabo smacked him on the head. "Idiot. Don't turn her down. Oh well, it just means more food for me." He said.

"Ha, I bet I can eat Y/N-san's food better than you. I always clean out my plate at school." Kai boasted.

"Dream on, kid. I've had a lot more practice than you." Sabo retorted.

You shook your head as you finished up. Nana, sitting down on the couch and holding Rouge, raised her eyebrows.

"You seem to enjoy being the housewife." She commented.

You only laughed quietly as the boys arrived, and you finished setting the table.

You scolded both of them for their terrible eating habits as you fed Rouge. Of course, Kai lost the eating competition. There was no way he could have beat Sabo.

"Is that how you courted her, Sensei? By eating everything that she put on your plate?" Kai asked shaking his head as you gave Sabo his seventh helping of fried rice.

Sabo laughed. "Actually, that is how _she_ courted _me,_ because she knows that I love eating so much, and she always makes food that I enjoy."

It was comments like that, coupled with the hotel incident that made you wonder if your feelings weren't one sided after all.

"Maybe she'll be able to get me too if I eat her food so much." Kai teased.

"Who knows, maybe I will." You smiled.

"That's it. I'm gonna make you do 250 push-ups on Sunday, Kai. No one hits on my girlfriend." Sabo told him.

_♤He's just faking. _ _He's_ _ just faking. _ _He's_ _ just faking.♤_

"Come on, sensei I was only teasing!" Kai complained.

"This will teach you not to do it again." He said.

"Hmph. Honestly I don't know what she sees in you." Kai pouted.

"Do you want me to make that 400?" Sabo raised his eyebrows. 

As Kai complained again at Sabo's outrageous training regimen, Nana dozed off on the couch and Rouge burped in your arms, you found it very funny, and laughed at all of them. It was like you had somehow cultivated your own weird little family that you would never let go of.

Kai left not long after, and you put Nana to sleep while Sabo put Rouge to sleep. You went up to your room, and found her sleeping soundly.

Something on the table next to Rouge's cot caught your eye. A gift.

It was a pair of children's goggles, clearly too big for Rouge, but that did not matter, it was the brand, and type of the goggles that made you gasp.

You ran out of the room, and searched, but Sabo wasn't in his room or downstairs. Instead, you found him outside, sitting in the veranda drinking wine, the bottle almost done.

"Sabo, this is..." You said. "The same brand as the only gift my mother ever gave me."

"That's right. You wanted to give Rouge something that reminded you of your mother right? You said it was important to you." He smiled scratching his head.

You couldn't believe it. You had only told him in passing six months ago back in Momoiro Island, to lessen tension between you.

And he had remembered.

"Yeah, but, these were rare even back then. Then the company collapsed. These goggles haven't been made in over ten years! How did you find one?" You asked.

"Oh, you know, a few East Blue islands, a little stroll around Loguetown... No big deal." He muttered.

"Don't lie to me. You went through a lot of trouble to get these, why?"

"So that I could be the reason for you to smile." He said finally.

You faltered.

"That's right, I told Koala I was doing it for Rouge, but it was so I could see that bright look on your face." He looked away.

"Well, thank you. I'm really grateful." You beamed and hugged him.

He let you hug him for only a second, before pulling back.

"You, trust me too much." He sighed finishing the wine in one go.

"Huh? What do you mean?" You asked.

"Earlier, you did that on purpose, didn't you? Getting into the water. You know I was watching." He said slowly looking into your eyes.

You could barely keep track of your heartbeat anymore, you could feel it thundering all over your body.

"You really are a dangerous woman." He whispered coming closer to you.

Being this close to him, you were sure, so sure that it wasn't just you. You wanted to reach out, to touch him, to reach the feelings that he seemed to want to keep inside. But you were afraid that you might do something that he didn't want.

Still you wanted to know how he felt.

"When I'm a mermaid, that's when I most beautiful." You said.

"That's not true. You always look amazing. I've told you this before, I'll tell you again. You are most beautiful when you are happy." He said with honest eyes.

_♤T_ _his is too hard. I can't take it anymore. How dare he look at me like that and not do anything?♤_

"This afternoon, you were in your mermaid form, and you were smiling too. You looked so happy and it made me-" He stopped immediately before he finished that sentence.

"It made you what? Tell me." You begged him.

"When we were in Genshou Island," He started. This was the first time he'd spoke of the incident between the two of you. "You said that you didn't trust any man that tried to get close to you. That's the right way to live."

"What's that got to do with anything?" You asked as the wind blew his hair out of his face, exposing the scarred eye that he kept hidden under the hair.

You reached out to touch it, but he flinched, drawing his face back. You didn't stop, though.

You touched the red, scalded part of his skin and he leaned his face into your hand. You held your breath as you traced the scar with your fingers.

He shivered. You had no idea what you were doing to him.

He stopped your hand, bringing it away from his face.

"Don't." He said.

"Why not?" You asked.

"Y/N, do you trust me?" He asked, looking straight into your eyes.

You gulped. "More than anyone in the world."

"You shouldn't."

"Why not?" You repeated.   
You didn't even have to think of what to say, the words flowed effortlessly from you. "You're not like all those other men. You're different..."

"No. I'm just like everybody else. I am also just a man." He stepped closer. "And you're so....beautiful."

_♤I can hear the beating of my own heart. From this distance, I'm sure he can hear it too.♤_

"I can't have you." He said, coming, if possible, even closer.

"Then why are you still here?" You whispered, goading him.

You could tell that the alcohol had loosened his inhibitions a little. You wondered how far you could push him.

He put his hand on your cheek and you trembled at the unexpected touch. All the while, the blue eyes never left yours.

"I'm going to regret this." He said.

You didn't reply. You knew he was right, but you really did not want him to stop.

"You are tampering with my self control today. When you look at me like that, I really can't stop myself." He said lowering his face down to your level.

You closed your eyes and felt the soft lips landing on your own. This was how weak you were. With this mere touch, your body began to shake, a gentle song forming in the depths of your heart. His lips moved slowly, like he was waiting for you to push him away.

You didn't.

Much too soon, he let go. You looked up at him.

"You should have pushed me away." He said breathlessly. "I warned you not to trust me."

What happened next caught you by surprise. He snaked his arm around your waist and violently pulled you into his own body. His lips collided with yours with so much more passion than you expected from him.

You wrapped your arms around his neck, and perhaps he took this as permission, because his hands gripped you even tighter and his kiss became even more furious, both of you releasing the feelings you'd kept suppressed all this time.

It was insane how tightly he was holding you, you'd known he was strong, but there was no way you would ever be able to free yourself from the tightness of his fingers.

Not that you would ever want to.

It was ecstatic, the feeling of his hands all over your body, untamed in his touch as he held you down. He was in total control, making you shake with excitement, his warmth travelling throughout your body.

And then suddenly it was gone.

He pushed you away even more violently than he'd pulled you in. He let go of you, and turned his back to you.

"Shit." He said.

"Sabo, I..." You didn't know what to say.

He hit himself over the head a dozen times.

"Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit!" He didn't turn around. "I'm sorry, Ace."

And then he just left. Ran away, to be specific, not turning back no matter how much you called him. You sank to the floor.

He slept at Headquarters that night.


	13. Family

Sabo didn't come home the next day. Or the day after. You figured that he was avoiding you, but you got annoyed on the third day.

If he was going to turn you down, at least he could do it to your face. Since it was the weekend, you figured you would let Maya come and stay with Rouge (which both of them seemed excited about, Rouge laughing and showing her new teeth out) and by extension Nana.

You, on the other hand went to Koala's house, determined to fish some answers from her. Since it was already after lunch, you bribed her by bringing some leftover tako su salad as a snack.

"Hmm, this is really good, Y/N!" Koala said when she tasted it.

Great. She took the bait.

"So, have you and Sabo ever dated?" You asked.

Koala coughed, nearly choking in surprise at your question.

"Oh, what an interesting question." A voice behind you said. Startled, you turned only to find Robin standing there, her arms crossed.

"Robin-san, you startled me. What are you- KYAAA!" You screamed when Robin suddenly disappeared right before your eyes. "Huh? Where did she go? What happened?"

"Relax, she's right over there." Koala said pointing, and sure enough, Robin was walking towards you from the opposite direction.

"That's a new technique I'm working on, but I can only hold it for so long." She explained to your confused self.

"Wow!" You exclaimed. "That is so cool, you can clone yourself! How did you come up with that?"

"I learned a few things from accompanying Dragon-san on his journey. Sometimes I may need to infiltrate a place but without having the capability to fight my way out." She smiled. "That's when I decided to try this."

Robin smiled and reached out to taste some of Koala's salad. "Hmm, that _is_ good. By the way, I thought mermaids didn't eat seafood."

"Oh, just fish. It's just weird I guess, but everything else is fine." You said. "Now, Koala, are you gonna answer my question or not?"

"Well, the answer is no, obviously." She said.

"Really?" Robin asked.

"Why are you so surprised? We met when we were kids and have been friends ever since. He needed someone to keep him on a leash, and that's my job. If I were to date him, who would be there to keep him in check." Koala pointed out.

"So, you've never even thought about it?" You asked. "Or him?"

"Nope, it would be like dating my senseless little brother. And as for Sabo, I doubt that too, you're the only girl that he's ever shown any interest in as long as I've known him." She said.

_♤_ _Shown interest in?♤_

"So, then it wasn't because of another woman that I got dumped. Where the hell is he, anyway?" You said slumping yourself down the lawn.

"He volunteered for an emergency mission two days ago. Wait, he dumped you?" Koala said and both she and Robin were looking at you in shock.

"Yeah he did...I mean, I guess?" You told them what happened.

"Well, that explains why he was a complete mess the other day! He wouldn't tell me why." Koala frowned. "No wonder he volunteered for something he normally wouldn't do."

"Yeah." You despaired, "He is completely avoiding me until I get the message."

"I doubt that. Trust me, if there's a problem, it's definitely him and not you." Koala placed a hand on your shoulder.

Robin looked thoughtful, "I don't know, Y/N-chan, Sabo doesn't strike me as the kind to leave things so vague. I feel like if he wanted to completely turn you down, he would do so in a single strike, just ripping of the band aid, letting the blood flow from the wound."

"You're not helping, Robin-san." Koala said.

You stared up at the sky, and it looked so blue that it reminded you of Sabo's eyes. You imagined the blood flow from your broken heart if Sabo went Robin's proposed route.

***  
A few days later as you lay in your bed in the silence, Rouge's breathing being the only noise in the night, you wondered if you would ever fall asleep.

A knock on your door caused you to sit up, and turn the lamp on. You cursed the way your heart picked up at a simple knock. It might not be him after all.

"Who is it?" You asked.

"It's me. May I come in?" It was him.

"Um...yeah."

The lamp could only show you so much of his face as he entered. You could not decipher his expression, and you were too afraid to search for his emotions.

Sabo sat down on the chair next to your bed, and said nothing. You were afraid of the silence becoming awkward, and you wanted to fill it.

"I'm sorry that I pushed so hard the other day, so don't worry about letting me down gently or anything. I already got the message when you left, so-" You babbled on but stopped when Sabo looked at you.

"Why would you assume that? I haven't said anything and you're already rejecting yourself." He said.

"You pushed me away, that must mean that you don't feel the same way I do." You reasoned.

Sabo frowned, and looked at you intensely. "So, you think that I would fly just anyone to the sky to show them the sunset, or that I would ask just anyone on a date, to spend my first real birthday in eleven years with?" He asked. "Do I really seem like someone who would touch or kiss any woman that I have no feelings for, the way I touched you?"

You stared, wide eyed at him. So he did like you!

_Thump._

_Thump._

"That's not what I-"

"I didn't leave because of you, I left because of me. If I was going to reject you, I would have done it months ago, when I first realised that you had feelings for me."

He wasn't here to dump you? "H-how long have you known? How I feel, I mean."

Sabo chuckled, "I think I discovered it even before you did."

"What? No way! You mean before we went to Kamabakka Kingdom?" You asked.

"Yup. Let's just say, you talk a lot when you're drunk, and you are easier to read." He laughs.

Did that mean that you already liked him by the Christmas Party? You bit your lip, and asked the question plaguing your heart right now.

"What about you, then? You already know that I'm in love with you." You said looking him in the eye.

Sabo tensed up, a look of shock and a tiny blush on his face. "You're in...How can you say it so easily?" He asked. "Do you know how much courage it took me to even think about kissing you on the forehead?"

"I'm just not good at hiding my feelings. You know this already." You told him.

He sighed. "I envy you. How can it be so easy for you to discard everything else and let your feelings out? How can you express yourself so...freely?"

You lay back down on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

"Shall I tell you a story?" You asked.

"A story?"

"Once upon a time, in the North Blue, a girl was born to a noble family. She was sick, and weak and it was a wonder that she even survived. She was an only child, and her mother could not have any more children. So, with no male heirs to carry on the family name, her parents decided that she would be the one to save their lineage." You said. "This child was taught to follow only the will of her parents, to live to revive the family name, to bring her parents glory. She was taught how to behave like a lady, to suppress her own feelings and put only the family first. She was an obedient child and did as her parents commanded, after all, what child could possibly imagine that her parents were using her as a tool?"

Sabo was looking at you, you could feel his eyes as you told this story, one that never failed to strike a painful nerve in you. This story was a little too close to home for him given what had happened with his own parents.

"The girl was unfortunately born with a weak body, and she was always sick. Her parents kept her away from other people, and she was sheltered in the home she grew up in, isolated like a prisoner. In all that time, her parents only ever looked in on her occasionally to scold her on bad grades or on anything that they found unworthy in a child who they wanted to marry into the royal family." You told him. "In all her life, the only person who ever cared for her was the young nursemaid who was tasked with raising her and caring for her condition. The nurse gave the child as much love as she could and passed on her love for music to the noble girl. Music was the only thing that the girl ever indulged herself in because she enjoyed it. She was not the best singer but her parents allowed her to learn to play the piano figuring she needed to be skilled in the arts as well. When she was seventeen years old, her parents' dream was finally fulfilled." You said.

The ceiling was oddly blank as you stared up at it, and Rouge's steady breathing indicated that she was asleep. You sighed, and continued with the story.

"She was lucky, at the presentation ball, the king fell in love with her after hearing her play a mellow melody on the piano, he was intrigued by her...and he chose her to be his bride. Even though she was sickly, he still loved her. A few months later, she married him." You paused. "She had thought that she would find meaning once she achieved her parents' dream. But unfortunately, even with a king for a husband, a man who loved and dotted on her daily, she never truly found happiness in her life. Even though she was a queen now, her life had lost it's meaning when she achieved everything that she'd spent her life preparing for. She found solace in a few quiet moments where she could enjoy music with her nursemaid or by herself. Eventually, she gave birth to two boys, and in raising her children, she found some comfort. But this was hard on her frail body and she decided not to have any more children."

"A drastic change happened one day, as she sat by her window, she heard a beautiful voice singing in the garden. She wanted to know where this melody came from, so she chased it, and found that it belonged to a new servant that the king had recently acquired. A detestable fishman. Yet still, despite everything that she had been taught, the discrimation that was all over this kingdom about other species, she was drawn to his voice. Every afternoon after that, she would listen to the man singing as he worked. A new song blossomed in the queen's heart." You smiled.

"So, the girl fell in love?" Sabo asked.

"That's right. A queen fell in love with a servant. To a woman who had suppressed her heart her entire life, the feelings were an explosion that she was unable to contain in that weak body. And how could the fishman not fall for a beautiful woman like her who treated him as an equal in a world in which he'd only received oppression from humans? But he was reluctant, after all she was married and to the king at that. But in the end, he accepted her." You smiled again. "A while later, she discovered that she was pregnant, and resolved to run away with her lover, to leave behind the kingdom and her teenage sons. Unfortunately, her eldest son discovered the truth about the affair, and was disgusted that his mother would disgrace the family like this. And so, he killed his mother's lover before they could leave."

Sabo inhaled sharply in shock. Honestly, a part of you wished that you had never found out this detail.

"Grief-striken, the queen nearly fell apart, losing herself in the loss. But she knew that she had to protect her unborn child, her son wasn't heartless enough to tell the king about the affair, so she went into the king's bed." You turned to face Sabo. "I was born seven months later, to a depressed mother who became paralysed from the final birth. Having lost the only love she ever had, my mother held on to me tightly. I was the only thing she cared about in the four years that we were together. I don't remember her all that well, but there are memories and words that she taught me that I remember clearly."

"So this is the story of your family, huh? It seems that your mother suffered a lot." Sabo said sympathetically.

"She did. But you asked me why I can share my feelings so easily, and this is why. Because of my mother's past and the words she told me. She told me to never suppress my feelings and to love and be loved. To find confidence in myself and to never hide my feelings just because someone said so." You sighed. "Maybe I took it too literally, but it's become nearly impossible for me to hide my feelings. You know this."

Sabo moved from the chair and sat on your bed. "Thank you for sharing this part of your life with me, I really appreciate it." He said. He was so close that you could feel the heat radiating from his body as you looked up at him, and you resisted the urge to cover yourself with a pillow to hide from his gaze.

"Since you were honest with me, I will be honest with you too." Sabo said. "The truth is, I never intended to do anything with the feelings that I felt developing inside my heart for you. But I went against that, more than once. Before you, my self control is nothing at all." He said. "But the problem is, to me, you are unattainable, out of my reach. I know that this is a limitation that I put on myself, but it is not something that I can overcome easily. In my head, I have it ingrained that you belong to Ace, and maybe I was just searching a connection to him through you in the beginning, I don't know."

"Sabo, Ace is-"

"I know. I do, it's just, I have a lot of guilt where Ace is concerned, I thought that if I saved you, if I looked after you in his place, then maybe he would forgive me for not being able to go to save him. It's way more than that now, though, there are things going through my mind that I don't like, and I still have a lot of issues with this that I need to sort out before I can come before you as a man." He explained.

You bit your lip. "So, this _is_ a rejection, then." You said.

"No. Never." Sabo looked down at you in the soft amber glow of the lamplight. "I don't do things in halves, I always go all out, and I'm a bit reckless in everything that I do, but I always give it my all. That's how I am in love too. I want to be able to love you freely without worrying about my guilt or tearing myself apart because I don't feel like what I'm doing is right. I want to give all of myself to you, all the broken pieces, but I need to sort them out first. It would only hurt you if I was wishy washy in a relationship with you and I could never do that. I want to come to you, when I feel ready to give you all the love that you deserve."

Honestly, you were too focused on the words, "_I want to love you freely."_ to think about anything else. 

"So, what do you want to do?" You asked.

"I'm really sorry, but for the first time with you, no, for the second time, I will be selfish." He asked. "Y/N, can I make a selfish request?"

_♤_ _Why do I keep falling for these selfish bastards?_ _♤_

"Make it." You breathed.

"Will you please wait for me?" Those damn blue eyes that reminded you of the sea gazed down at you hopefully. "Until I can come before you and take responsibility for both of our feelings, until I can look at you, without feeling guilty...until I reach a good place with myself, and understand myself better. Until I can give all of the love that I have in my heart to you. Will you wait for me until then?"

And now you didn't know what to say, because the closeness of him, and the distance of his heart made you ache a little. And yet, somehow the words that he said and the determination of them, the promise that they carried, melted you inside, drove you crazy and your heart jumped up and down. Because of course you would. What wouldn't you do for this man?

"Fine, I'll wait. I'll let you be selfish." You said. "But let me tell you something first."

"What?" He asked.

You breathed in, and effortlessly, but still passionately, said the words that were begging to come out of heart, to reach him and make him understand that yes you would wait, but it would be hard for you.

"Sabo, I love you."

Sabo started. For a moment, his resolve wavered, and he wanted to discard all foolish thoughts about settling his own issues first before coming to you with them.

For a moment he considered throwing caution in the wind. So what if his mind's unsteady state led to him hurting you, hurt was a part of love right? So what if he wallowed in guilt and self-contempt and uncertainty because of it?

But only for a moment.

He stood up, recognising the need to leave before he crumbled completely before you and allowed you to love him, to your heart's content right here. He leaned down and brushed his lips past yours, for only a second, tempting himself, telling himself to get his issues sorted out quickly, because this was what was waiting for him.

"You really are a dangerous woman." He whispered as he walked to the door.

You smiled slightly, feeling the heat where his lips briefly touched yours.

"Don't keep me waiting for too long." You whispered as he stood, leaning against the door.

Before you fell asleep, you thought you heard him say. "I won't."

***  
In the following few weeks, you noticed another subtle change in your relationship with Sabo. His touches didn't linger anymore, and you knew that it was so he could keep himself in check. But stares did linger, and smiles and laughs were precious moments that you held dear.

The moments you spent alone with him, him standing a little too far away from you, but more engaged in conversations, moments where he never, _ever,_ agreed to go for a swim with you, were little pieces that made you fall even more in love with him.

And then there were the moments the two of you spent with Rouge, simple everyday things like Rouge posseting milk on Sabo's shirt even though she was already over a year old. She seemed to find it amusing, but neither you nor Sabo did because it meant more laundry for you. And one time Sabo suggested that maybe he should just walk around shirtless instead.

Like hell you were going to be able to wait if he did something like that. You threw a frying pan at him in response with he caught easily with a smirk. And you resisted the urge to punch him the face to wipe off that beautiful smile that sped up your heart.

Perhaps the best moment of all happened one morning while you were in the kitchen, and Sabo called you to the living room where he was doing some paperwork for the relocation of some refugees while watching Rouge. You found him on the floor with her, and she was standing, not balancing on anything.

"That's crazy!" You said kneeling down on the floor next to him, watching Rouge, just standing on her own two feet.

"Yeah, it took her a while, but she did it." He said happily.

And just when you thought that the moment couldn't possibly get better, Rouge took one step. Two steps. Three steps. Then she just sat back down playing with her toys.

"D-did you see that?" Sabo asked in awe.

You looked at him, tears in your eyes, "Sabo, she was walking...Our Rouge took her first steps!"

In his eyes was reflected the same pride that you felt about your daughter. And you were glad that this moment was shared with him. You wanted to share all the major moments in Rouge's life with him, until the end of time. You wanted him to be right there for all of them, as the father neither of you had.

You desperately wanted him to stay by your side for the rest of your life.

"I'm so glad that I didn't miss this." Sabo said. "Thank you for letting me be a part of Rouge's life. I hope that you let me carry on experiencing her growth. I want to be there with you, every step of the way."

And then you knew that this moment was one that you would never forget, because a song about Sabo was itching to be released from your heart, and the lyrics were already formed inside.

Another moment that you missed was when Sabo was helping Nana to her room one night.

"Thank you, Sabo-san." Nana said.

"I just helped put you in the bed." Sabo responded.

"Not for that. For having mercy on Y/N, and giving so much to her. As the only parent that she's had for a long time, I feel secure giving both her and Rouge to you." Nana said as he gave her her medicine.

Sabo smiled, "I've told you so many times, but there's no need to thank me. And besides, that just sounds like you are giving her in marriage or something."

Even in her weakened state, Nana was able to give him a smug look. "I might as well be."

And Sabo went red in the face, because of course the old woman was not stupid, she could tell what was going on.

You were surprised when Sabo left the room so fast that he almost ran into you as you were coming in.

"Sorry." He muttered.

"Huh?" You said noticing that he was embarrassed. "Nana, what did you say to him?"

The old woman smiled. "Oh, nothing he didn't already know."

She wasn't telling, so you let the matter go.

More moments came and went, appreciated by you in the company of those that you'd come to think of as family. You took an indefinite leave from Mesland School again as the seasons began to change, and Nana required more care.

There were also moments with Kai and Maya who came often to watch Kai train and to learn some cooking tips from you. You also had the sneaking suspicion that the silent girl may have had a crush on Kai. And the boy may or may not have seemed more motivated when she was around.

Of course, you teased her about it, and you were proud when she made her first meal by herself and watched Kai eating it zealously. The two teenagers had become a near prmanent fixture in your home, and you would not have it any other eay.

Moments like these were meant to be treasured.

***

But like all things, whenever good things happened to you, there was always the need for a balance, and something was bound to go wrong.

Like you had done on many occasions in the past, this night was no different as you went downstairs and made yourself at home in Nana's room.

"You are relentless, no....matter how many....times I tell you not to come." Nana coughed. "You even...brought your daughter this...time."

You placed Rouge on the cot that stayed in Nana's room, switched of the lights and then got into bed with the old woman.

"That's how granddaughters and great-granddaughters are. They pester you." You said getting under the covers.

Nana was really warm. Sleeping so close to her always brought memories of your mother.

"I guess...I don't have....to worry about you..anymore.." Nana muttered in the silence.

You smiled. "You always worry about me. Even though you deny it sometimes."

She chuckled, which came out as more of a choke than anything. Still, it was nice to know that she found it amusing.

"To be honest, I'm glad...you've found.... someone to love. I was worried that.... it might be hard for you." She said.

"You can tell?"

"Of course.....You are the exact opposite of Turia-sama, your mother was always so reserved with her....emotions." Nana explained. "After Ace died, you also regressed and....I worried that you....would suffer from the same fate that...she had."

You closed your eyes. "Yeah, I almost disregarded my mother's words back then, and I don't know how Rouge and I would have fared if Sabo hadn't found us."

"Ah...perhaps I haven't thanked him enough for helping you....and giving you....the chance to ....to create another song in your heart....adding a verse to the song in your soul..." Nana mused.

You shook your head and turned in the bed to face her in the darkness. "He would probably brush it off anyway. Trust me, he probably doesn't think much of it himself."

"That's true, Sabo-san is a good man, so I know....I can leave you in his hands, both you and Rouge." She smiled. ".....I've done my duty and.... I'm sure Turia-sama and Kairo-sama.... will be satisfied with how you turned out as well."

You snorted. "Mother, sure. But my older brother doesn't give a damn about me."

"Is...that so? Well, either way, you made the most....from your life and you survived, so....I can't really ask for more." Nana said.

You snaked your arm around her. "You're talking a lot today. Get some rest." You ordered.

"Yes, I think I will." She said, taking a deep breath.

In the silence of the night you could hear her breathing, struggling to do so as usual.

"You are...not going to...sing 'Sunshine' tonight?" Nana asked.

"Nope," You said snuggling closer to her. "I only do that because you always say depressing things whenever I sleep with you. But today you didn't. Besides, I don't wanna wake Rouge."

"I see... You...are a good mother, Y/N-sama." Nana whispered in the night. "I'm glad that you've finally found a real family."

You smiled and placed your headd on her chest. It meant a lot for you to hear that from her, the person who had raised you after your mother's death.

Holding on to Nana's warmth, you allowed the sound of her shallow breathing to lull you to sleep.

When you woke up, the entire room was quiet. You were sleeping so close together, but Nana felt cold, so you took the blanket covering both of you, and placed it on her completely.

As you reached out to cover her, the silence in the room turned eery, but you shook off the fear coming over you in that instant. You didn't know why she wasn't shivering, or why you could not feel any peaceful emotions coming from her.

Suddenly, when you touched Nana's hand, it felt unnaturally cold, too cold for a living person. You also couldn't feel the steady moving of her chest with would indicate that she was breathing.

"Nana, wake up..." You said in panic. "Nana?"

***


	14. Dawn

_♤You were only four years old when your mother died. That evening, as always, you held Nana's hand as she led you to the hospital. You entered the _ _room_ _ excited to see your mother again. She lay on the comfortable bed, covered with beautiful expensive blankets. The room had a sweet fragrance _ _instead_ _ of the antiseptic hospital smell. It was nothing less than what a queen deserved._

_"Turia-sama, are you awake?" Nana said as she led you inside._

_"Oh. Nana. Did you bring Y/N-chan to see me?" The weak _ _voice_ _ replied._

_"Yes, she wants to say goodnight."_ _Nana said._

_"Come here, my baby." Your mother said sitting up with that _ _never-ending_ _ sadness on her face. _ _You_ _ climbed onto the bed and she held you close to her chest. "My favourite thing in the whole world." She whispered._

_Your mother's touch was always delicate, her body too fragile for you to hold on too tight. _

_"Mama? Can I sleep with you tonight?" You asked __hopefully__. You terribly missed sleeping next to your mother, since she had been brought to __the_ _hospital__ you __hadn't__ had the chance __to__ sleep next to her._

_The woman smiled, that rare upturn of her _ _lips_ _ that she only _ _ever_ _ seemed to reserve for you. _

_"Of course you can, honey." She smiled._

_"But Your Majesty, Kairo-sama said _ _that_ _ she shouldn't-" Nana started._

_Your mother frowned. "I don't care what that boy said. I am the queen and her mother. I say, Y/N-chan is sleeping here tonight."_

_"Very well, Turia-sama. _ _I'll_ _ stay outside." Nana bowed and left._

_Turia opened the blankets making space for you to get inside next to her._

_"Will you sing for me? I wanna hear your beautiful voice." She whispered to you. It wasn't unusual for her to ask you to sing for her. She always enjoyed it _ _immensely_ _, and nothing made you _ _happier_ _ back then than seeing your mother smile._

"_Sunset, sunset, little bit of sunshine,_  
_By the sea, by the sea, waiting for the future_  
_Pretty smile, Pretty smile, the song in my heart_  
_Heart beat, heart beat, filled with sunshine_  
_Lot of love, lot of love, crying for the future_  
_Happy, happy, you complete the song in my heart..."_

_You sang the song to her, watching the smile on her face, but for some reason, she started crying again._

_"_ _Don't_ _ cry Mama. _ _I'll_ _ sing it better for you next time." You _ _promised_ _._

_"No. No, you did great, _ _I'm_ _ just sorry that you were cursed with such a weak mother. I _ _can't_ _ even protect my only daughter..." She cried. "_ _I'm_ _ sorry, Y/N-chan, that I _ _can't_ _ spend more time with you."_

_"_ _That's_ _ okay. When _ _you're_ _ better, we'll go _ _for_ _ a picnic again, and I can wear the goggles you gave me and _ _I'll_ _ be really careful that no one sees me when I'm swimming." You said snuggling _ _up_ _ to her. "We'll have lots of fun! We'll even bring Nana!"_

_The sadness _ _didn't_ _ disappear from her face. "You know, _ _you're_ _ my little sunshine. _ _When_ _ my world was darkest, you brought light to me... so _ _don't_ _ ever forget that you are the thing that I love the most in this world."_

_You smiled. "I love Mama the most in the world too. And then Nana, then Larcko-sama and Kairo-sama and then Father-sama."_

_"Good girl." She sighed. "Listen to my words and obey them."_

_"Yes, Mama." _

_"Respect Nana and your father, and listen to your brothers, especially __Kairo__, don't do anything to upset him. Stay away from water if people are present, hide your scales, but __don't__ be ashamed of them." She said. "__Don't_ _suppress__ your feelings, live freely doing what you want, __don't__ let anyone control your life. __There'll__ come a time when you find this palace suffocating. Leave, and find your place in the world."_

_"But, I _ _can't_ _ leave you behind." You protested._

_"You _ _don't_ _ have to worry _ _about_ _ that. One day, you may come to resent me for my choices, you may come to resent your brother as well. I want you to know, that we probably deserve it, so if you want to hate us, feel free to do so." She said._

_You leaned in to her warmth. "__But_ _that's__ impossible. I can never hate you."_

_"His name was Fisher Lion. He had a brother, that was his only family...I _ _don't_ _ remember the name, but they got separated when they were young. I _ _don't_ _ know if _ _you'll_ _ find anything in Fishman Island, but _ _that's_ _ all I knew about his family." She said._

_"What are you talking about Mama?" You asked in _ _confusion_ _._

_"Someday, _ _you'll_ _ understand...when you're older. Just remember the name, Fisher Lion." She instructed._

_"Fisher Lion." You repeated._

_"Good girl. You stay a _ _good_ _ girl, okay? Even when _ _I'm_ _ not here anymore." She said sadly._

_"Are you going somewhere?" You asked. "_ _I'll_ _ come with you."_

_"__Don't__ worry, sweetie, as long as __there's__ a verse about me in the song of your soul, __I'll_ _never__ go anywhere."_

_Back then, you were only just discovering your ability to hear people's inner voices and sense their feelings. Somehow all you ever got _ _from_ _ your mother was just sadness._

_"_ _Don't_ _ forget the promise you made to me." She said._

_"_ _Hide my body, but _ _don't_ _ be ashamed of it. Never suppress my feelings, not for anyone." You said._

_She smiled, but even _ _the_ _ final smile you ever saw on her face was sad._

_The next morning when you woke up, the room was quiet, that _ _eery_ _ silence into which nothing could penetrate. Your mother was not moving and, for the first time since you had known her, she _ _didn't_ _ look sad...she looked peaceful. Strangely beautiful in that cold lifeless way._

_You ran out of the hospital room, straight into _ _Kairo_ _ who was here to visit your mother in the morning. Nana was there with your mother's doctor who had come to administer her medicine, _ _greeting_ _ him._

_"Nana, Brother-sama, Mama is not moving. I think _ _she's_ _ sick again." _ _You_ _ said._

_The doctor's eyes widened, and he ran inside, followed by a multitude of nurses._

_"What are you doing here so early?" _ _Kairo_ _ asked._

_"I was sleeping with Mama." You smiled. "But will she be okay? Her voice disappeared."_

_The doctor came out of the room looking solemn. He fell down to the ground, head bowed. _

_"_ _I'm_ _ sorry, Kairo-sama, Y/N-sama, the queen has passed. She turned off the machine herself, so we _ _didn't_ _ know-"_

_Slap!_

_The sound startled you as your brother slapped Nana in the face._

_"She had less than a month left to leave. How many times did I tell you not to leave the child alone with her?!" Kairo shouted. He looked angrier than you had ever seen him in his life. You stepped away and hid from him._

_Nana bowed down on the ground as well. "_ _I'm_ _ sorry, Your Highness, Turia-sama wanted to sleep with her."_

_"Well, __she's__ dead now, and this child will have to live with the trauma of waking up next to her dead mother for the rest of her life!" He shouted. "Why is that woman so selfish even up to her last moments on earth?!"_  
_Kairo looked at you. "Get her out of here! And Landril, please alert the king that mother has passed."_

_You _ _couldn't_ _ understand what was happening, Nana _ _wouldn't_ _ let you say goodnight to your mother that night, and she explained to you that your _ _mother_ _ had gone _ _somewhere_ _ that she could never return from. You wanted to follow her, but Nana said that if you did, it would make Mama sad._

_After that, you _ _could_ _ never sleep _ _alone_ _ again, _ _the_ _ silence always reminded you of your mother and you only slept in crowded areas or of _ _someone_ _ was there with you._

_It was a long time before you were able to fully understand the last words your mother ever said to you, but you kept them in your heart, never straying from them. The king kept you _ _at_ _ arm's length, he could not look at you because you looked so much like his dead wife. Your rearing was left to Nana and your brothers._

_You and your brother Larcko got _ _along_ _ fairly well, but Kairo was hard on both of you, putting all the expectations of the royal family on your shoulders. You listened to, and respected him but you never hid your disdain for his methods either._

_The king died when you were eleven, and when _ _you_ _ were twelve, you ran away from home, unable to live under Kairo's rule anymore. You left with Nana, but the two of you got separated not long _ _after_ _ you left and you _ _didn't_ _ see her for years until Ace found her for you two years ago and the two of you were able to reunite._

_When you found out that you were pregnant, the two of you took care of each other, looking to the future.♤_

***

Sabo took care of the funeral for you. In all honesty, the entire week following Nana's death was a blur for you. Words from Dr. Mansfield spelling out, "sudden cardiac arrest" or "relatively painless" or "peacefully in her sleep" went in one ear and out the other. You didn't even see Rouge all that week, but someone or other was taking care of her, in fact, all you did was sit in the living room staring blankly into space. 

Sabo was there saying words like, "here for you" and "talk to me" or "bury her in the north graveyard."

"No." You finally spoke up. "I don't want her to be buried in a foreign land. I want her cremated, so I can send her to the sea, maybe she can drift home."

"Okay." Sabo said putting a hand on your shoulder. "The funeral is tomorrow night, but if you're not up to it, I can postpone it."

You shrugged. "It's fine. The full moon is tomorrow, Nana always loved the moonlight."

"Alright. Y/N, you've been completely static these past few days. I'm worried about you." Sabo said gently.

"It's unlike me, isn't it? You'd expect me to be bawling my eyes out like a child right? I guess, I'm just still processing things." You sighed.

"If you need me, I'm here." He said. "Koala, Robin, Dinah, Kai and Maya have been coming to see you frequently too. You're not alone."

"Thank you, for taking care of everything." You said before returning to your favourite pastime of staring at the wall.

~

The funeral itself was also just filled with shaking hands with people, accepting their condolences and nodding. It was a small intimate gathering, full of your colleagues from Mesland School, some students, Sabo's friends among others.

"I am very sorry for your loss." Dragon-sama said shaking your hand.

"Thank you, but you are a busy man, you didn't have to come here." You said.

"Nonsense." He said. "Of course I did. You are a very important part of our family."

Suddenly you lost your footing remembering Nana's last words. "_I'm glad that you've finally found a real family."_

You felt the tears running down your face as Sabo caught you before you fell.

"Thank you, Dragon-sama, Nana would have really liked to hear you say that." You sobbed.

He nodded and left you to Sabo's care. 

Kai held the urn for you, Maya carried Rouge, Robin and Koala lit lanterns for you and Sabo supported you the entire way. 

You stood by the seaside watching as the wind slowly carried the lanterns across the sky, some falling into the sea and flowing with the water. You took some of the ashes and poured them into the water.

_♤Nana, are you __happy__ where you are now? __You're__ finally free of the __burden__ of serving our family. You are no longer a servant anymore. __Isn't__ that nice? I bet __you're__ glad that you __don't__ have to raise another complicated girl like you did me and Mama. Speaking of Mama, if you see her, tell her not to worry. I obeyed everything she told me. I fell in love and __I'm__ a mother too now. I had the baby out of wedlock, but she __can't__ be mad, she had an affair... I guess __that_ _I'm__ grateful to both of you for giving me life and raising me to be the woman I am today.♤_

The sun had already set, but with the warm glow of the lanterns in the distance, it seemed appropriate to bid Nana farewell by singing her song. 

"Sunset, sunset little bit of sunshine..." You sang it softly with a depth of the emotion in your heart. "By the sea, by the sea, waiting for the future..."

You sang the song to completion, supported by the strength that your friends were lending you. Even though you could barely see with the tears clouding your eyes, you felt the song in your heart, piecing you as the ashes of your dear grandmother were taken by the wind into the sea.

***

  
For some reason, the bed felt cold. It did not matter how many blankets you covered yourself with. You couldn't hear Rouge breathing from her cot and you began to panic. You picked her up and put her on the bed next to you in the silence of the night.

You couldn't lose anyone anyone else, you thought as you held her tightly to your chest. As long as she was filled with your warmth them she would be fine. You held her closely and squeezed her even closer. The baby was making loud noises now, that was good, it proved that she was alive.

The door opened and Sabo came in. He assessed the situation and then he knelt down by your bed and reached out his hand. When he spoke, his voice was quite gentle.

"Y/N, give me the baby." He said quietly.

"Why? Don't worry, she's sleeping with me tonight. She is completely fine." You assured him.

"Y/N. You are hurting her."

You looked down at the child and sure enough, where your fingers were on her skin, you were leaving marks on it. You faltered and finally let her go, giving her to him.

Sabo took the baby and placed her back in her cot.

"I'm sorry." You said starting to cry. "I'm a little paranoid. What if she doesn't wake up too? What if I don't? What if you are here this moment and gone the next? Death is a scary thing."

Sabo sat down on the bed. "Life is fragile, any moment it can be taken from you without you even imagining it. It may be hard to swallow, but you shouldn't lose hope for the future just because of a single loss."

"I knew it was gonna happen. Nana's condition was not getting better and she kept talking about death all the damn time. I should be able to accept it, right?" You sniffed.

"Of course not. Healing takes time. You know this already." He said.

"I should have sang to her that night. I know how much she loved that song...Why didn't I do it? I always sang to her in the past, except on that one night...if only..." You were shaking under the covers now, unable to control your crying.

Your sobs had turned into full on bawling. Sabo opened the blankets and got inside. He lay there, next to you and pulled you close to him. He held you there in his arms as you cried. He was warm and sturdy, a refuge for you to find peace and solace.

"Isn't it strange?" You said, your nails digging into his skin. "It struck me during the funeral but I have no idea where Nana was not. She was a servant to my grandparents, she practically raised both me and my mother, and I don't know a single detail about her life before she became a servant."

"It's okay. It's okay. Listen to me, Y/N, Nana seemed to be content with her life as long as I knew her. Honestly, if she felt you were lacking in any way, she would have let you know, harshly too." Sabo said as he comforted you. "She was never one to mince her words to anyone, not for anything. I think she was proud of the person you became. You looked after her, paid proper attention to her meals and generally devoted a lot of your time to caring about her wellbeing. I think you made her happy."

"You really....you think so?" You looked up at him hopefully.

"Of course. She wouldn't like it if you stayed sad forever." He said.

You let his closeness be if comfort to you. His hands patting your back as you lay your head on his chest. As long as he was here, as long as he was looking after you, you were fine. If he stayed with you and Rouge for the rest of your lives, then you thought you would find peace.

"I'll get better. I promise." You whispered as you wiped the tears from your cheeks.

"I'm glad." He said pulling you closer.

You fell asleep in his arms, and woke up in them. He had not moved all night, but you wanted to get better, to help him too in any way that you could. Because he was right, Nana would a cold you for being too sad, she would give you hell for almost hurting your daughter and she would look at you disapprovingly if you kept on crying.

You untangled yourself from the still sleeping Sabo and took Rouge with you downstairs. One step at a time, you believed. The first step for today was to wake up and make breakfast for everyone. You would heal on time maybe, but it was important to take that first step into the future yourself.

You weren't alone anymore, after all.

***

Unfortunately, Sabo had a mission the next week that he really couldn't put off. He felt bad about leaving you by yourself at a time like this, but you understood the constraints of his work.

"Your fear of sleeping alone has increased recently, hasn't it? Don't worry, Koala will stay with you tonight." He promised.

"You didn't have to." You muttered collecting his plate of food.

"She wanted to help you. Robin too, but unfortunately, she is coming with me on this mission." He explained. "I promise to call you as much as I can."

Sighing, you nodded. "I'd tell you that it wasn't necessary, but you would do it anyway, wouldn't you?"

"You know me well." He smiled.

Koala came over that evening and you made dinner for both of you and ate it in silence. You also fed Rouge her food as you sat in the living room. Koala came and sat next to you.

"She's lively tonight, isn't she?" She asked.

"Yeah, she has been a bit sullen for the past few days, picking up on my mood. She gets better as I get better." You replied.

Koala looked at you. "I know that you are tired of hearing this, but how are you doing?"

"Sabo just worries too much about me. Look, I'm fine." You said attempting to smile.

Koala frowned. "Don't do that." She said sharply. "Do not force a smile. Do you understand? There is nothing more painful than smiling while you are crying inside."

Her expression was serious, more so than it had ever been before in front of you. "I'm sorry." You said.

"Don't be sorry to me. I just don't want you to hide the pain inside of your heart. I know how much it hurts having to pretend to be happy when you really feel like drowning." She put her hand on your shoulder.

Koala really had been through a lot. She'd probably seen a lot too, working for the Revolutionary Army.

"Thank you for caring do much about me, Koala-chan. I'm really glad to have a friend like you." You said. "It's true. I still cry a lot when I think about Nana, but I know that the dawn is coming. I have to meet it halfway."

"What do you mean?"

"Sitting on my ass inside the house is not gonna help. I'm going back to work." You told her.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

You nodded.

~

You had to take Rouge with you to work now since there was no one at home left to look after her. You would leave her with some of the other young children at Mesland School to play with them.

You threw yourself into your cooking. Dinah and the kids were very supportive to you and you have it your all, as a simple distraction from reality. It seemed to work fine.

"Are you feeling better, Y/N-san?" Kai asked you after class.

"Oh, thank you for your concern Kai. I'm doing okay." You made your way towards the winrot with him following close behind you. "You know, you look a little paler than usual. Is something wrong?"

Kai fidgeted. "Actually, I triggered a memory from my past." He said.

Your eyes widened. "Kai, that's great!"

He looked down. "Is it?" He asked quietly. "At Nana's funeral, I remembered being at a funeral when I was younger...maybe six or seven."

Gasping, you looked at him sadly. "Did you remember who it was that died?"

He shook his head. "No, I just remember that it was a mass funeral, and there were lots of people there. I remember feeling sad and angry that such a thing happened." He stared at the ground. "Do you think it is good for me that my memories are coming back? Even if they are so sad?"

You gave the boy a hug. "I think it's good for you to remember things slowly, rather than everything coming back at once." You told him. "Listen Kai, your past doesn't matter to me. You are a part of my family now, who you were won't change anything. We all have pain in our past and things that we wish we could forget, but that pain makes us stronger, makes us want to fight to live another day because of the people we love."

"So, I shouldn't be scared of my memories?"

"I'm sure that there are some scary ones in there. If it gets too hard, come to me...and I'll help you as best as I can. I promise." You said.

"You really are kind, Y/N-san." The boy smiled.

You ruffled his hair a little. "See you tomorrow, okay?"

***

The seasons began to change as the weeks went by, forming a month, two months and you began to feel like your old self again. But even when wounds heal, they leave scars. You kept Nana's room locked at all times and you didn't dare open it for fear of breaking down.

You concentrated instead on the good things in your life, your friends and your family. You fell back into the routine of cooking to your heart's desire at Mesland School, to experimenting with new dishes which Sabo ate without a single complaint. That man could eat anything.

There was an air of recovery in the cold wind, and you went to shop for new clothes for Rouge with Robin and Koala, and found yourself smiling easily again. Maya and Kai came over often, Maya's excuse being her fondness for Rouge, and her desire to learn how to cook from you. You'd make food for the boys which they would devour without leaving a single grain of rice behind. Maybe it was the intensity of the training or maybe Sabo's eating habits were rubbing off on Kai, but you barely ever seemed to have enough food left in the house, making shopping runs every week to Mesland Market.

Still, you wouldn't change a thing. This was the family you chose, and you were happy with it. You wouldn't trade them for anyone else.

One such day, when Sabo was training Kai, you sat in the veranda with Maya, watching them. Sabo was teaching Kai a new sword technique. You picked up the water sword, Mizumaru and walked up to them bringing them energy drinks to cool down.

"So, maybe I should learn how to use a sword." You said thoughtfully gesturing to the sword strapped to your waist. "Will you teach me?"

Sabo downed his drink. "Since when have you cared about fighting? You don't like violence." He pointed out.

This was true. But Sabo loved fighting, and you wanted to pay attention to the things he liked too, maybe that would make him more inclined to want to be with you.

You blushed. "Well, I just think it's a waste that I can't use the sword that you gave me is all. Just the basics, come on."

Sabo raised his eyebrows. "Very well. Kai, teach her the basics." He instructed.

"Yes, Sensei." Kai said coming up to you.

You crossed your arms. "Huh? Why Kai? Why not you?"

"Are you dissatisfied with me? I'm offended." Kai frowned.

Sabo shrugged. "I just don't think I'd have much to teach you at this stage."

"What's that supposed to mean?" You asked.

"He's trying to put it delicately, but he's basically saying it is beneath him to teach someone as unskilled as you." Kai snorted.

"What? Well, I don't wanna learn anymore." You pouted.

"Sensei, have you been neglecting Y/N-san recently? I bet that's why she's trying to get your attention this way." Kai could barely suppress a laugh. "You shouldn't do that, women have needs too you know."

Of course, that earned him a pipe to the head which he was barely able to dodge.

"N-negelecting her? Why that's just...I have never seen such a cheeky kid." Sabo kicked him to the ground, but he looked a little pink on the ears.

Even down on the ground, Kai couldn't stop himself. "Y/N-san, you can totally leave him for me. I hear women love younger men, I'll totally satisfy your-"

He didn't get to finish that sentence because in the next moment he had to whip out his sword to block a flurry of attacks from Sabo's pipe. You courteously moved out of the way and let them resume their training. Or rather, Kai being unable to block Sabo's onslaught.

You laughed at the sheer cheek that Kai had to keep teasing you like that. Returning to your comfortable seat on the veranda where Rouge and Maya were playing, you watched the boys again.

Sabo finally stopped bullying the boy and let him catch his breath before resuming training on his speed. They continued at that pace for a while, Kai learning to dodge quicker, to attacker faster before his opponent could even move.

Suddenly, after a particularly narrow dodge, Kai disappeared from your view and appeared right behind Sabo in that same second, his sword raised. You gasped again Sabo was able to block the attack due to his quick reflexes. Kai fell to the ground panting.

"Let's stop here for today." Sabo said with a concerned frown. Kai nodded, and limped towards the bathroom.

"Why don't you get started on dinner?" You said to Maya as you took Rouge, and a towel to Sabo.

He had a concerned look on his face. "Did you see the last move he used?" He asked.

"Yeah, well no, it was really fast, he almost got you." You said. "But it took a lot out of him."

Sabo wiped his face with the towel. "Here's the thing, he wasn't just fast. He used _soru, _it's a technique from a certain martial arts style called the Rokushiki."

"Is that bad?" You asked.

He shook his head. "Not necessarily. It's just not something that anyone can unlock without seeing it in action or intense training. He's only fifteen, I wonder where a child like that could have learned a technique like this."

You supposed that would all be explained when Kai got his memories back.

***


	15. Broken Pieces

_♤ You laid your head on Ace's chest, attempting to match your breathing to his. You were hoping that this would quell the nausea a little._

_"Hey, I'm so sorry." You said. "I know that you came here for the first time in a while and instead you find me sick."_

_"It's okay. I never get to take care of you when you're sick because I'm not around a lot of the time." Ace smiled._

_It had been a month since you'd seen him, and three months since he left the Whitebeard Pirates to search for Blackbeard. He wasn't happy with how his search was going, and had probably come here to cool down and relax with you. You had left Issaquah Island with him to come live here with Nana. The small cottage was on top of a mountain so no one really bothered you up here. _

_You had worried about Ace's state of mind for a while after Thatch's death, but he was fine now and his sole purpise was to destroy Blackbeard. There was nothing you could do to dissuade him despite the bad feeling you had about the entire situation._

_You stood up abruptly and ran to the bathroom to throw up again. _

_"Why am I like this?" You sighed as he held your hair up. _

_"You said that it has been happening ever since you moved here, right? Maybe the water here doesn't agree with you." Ace suggested as you washed your face._

_"It could be." You said falling back down onto your bed. "But I've been boiling the water for the past week and nothing's changed. The only thing I seem able to keep down is chocolate cake."_

_"Maybe it's the chocolate cake that is making you sick. I mean do you have anything else to eat in this house besides sweets?" Ace pointed out sternly. Geez, it was strange being lectured on your eating habits by your gluttonous boyfriend. _

_"I love chocolate cake." You protested._

_"Well you are eating too much of it." Ace said. "We need to go down the mountain because you need to go get some medicine. We can stop by Nana's hospital to see how she's doing."_

_"That sounds like fun." You groaned burying your face in your pillow trying to stifle the oncoming wave of nausea._

_"What really is wrong with you anyway? You never get sick like this." He sounded legitimately worried. _

_"It's probably just some stupid stomach flu or something." You sighed, then giggled. "Or maybe I'm pregnant."_

_Ace sat up so fast that you swore the room temperature suddenly went up._

_"Man, relax." You said "I'm joking Ace, it's just a joke you don't have to hyperventilate!"_

_"Shit! Don't joke about that okay? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" He gasped, a hand on his face in distress._

_"Okay, I won't. I'm gonna go wash up now." You said cautiously watching the panicked expression on Ace's face slowly disappear. You hadn't meant to tease him about it since you knew how strongly felt about the issue._

_But then as you stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom, you thought about it._

_When was the last time you saw your period? A month? Two? You'd started on birth control ever since you and Ace started sleeping together, but you never knew when Ace would come by and you weren't always consistent. _

_It was not far fetched at all, you really might be pregnant._

_You felt like you were going to faint but you pulled yourself together well enough until you arrived at the clinic._

_"I'll wait for you at the beach. Come over there, you love the sea, so I'm sure it will make you feel better. Then we'll go get something to eat, okay?" Ace promised you. _

_You smiled and nodded. He really was a good boyfriend. "I'll come find you as soon as I'm done."_

_There weren't many people waiting at the clinic and pretty soon, you were called into the doctor's office. _

_"How are you feeling?" She asked._

_"Nauseous, and I throw up a lot too. Sometimes it's worse than others." You said._

_"How long has this been going on?" _

_"The past couple of months, on and off. I just moved here, so I thought it was a change of atmosphere." You explained._

_"Any changes in your mood or behaviour or eating patterns?" The doctor asked checking your pulse. _

_"Not really. I mean, I've been craving chocolate cake a lot more than usual and I don't feel so good that's all."_

_"And when was the last time you saw your period?" There it was, the question that shook you up. _

_"I don't..I don't remember..." You barely managed to say._

_"And have you been with anyone in the last month or two?"_

_"Yes."_

_She ran a blood test and when she returned, she looked at the fearful expression in your eyes and said, "Well, I don't know if it's good news or not for you but you're pregnant." _

_You immediately started crying uncontrollably, your body shaking. How could this happen? How could you be so careless? You knew how Ace felt about having children, how he felt about being born. It was something that he'd struggled with his whole life. So he sure as hell didn't want to pass on his father's bloodline to any other generation. What were you supposed to do? How were you supposed to tell him that you were carrying more of the blood that he resented?_

_The doctor gave you something for morning sickness and you went out to the beach. You found Ace there, he was there sitting a little aways from the water, asleep. You started crying uncontrollably because you didn't know whether to be happy or not. You wondered if you told him, maybe he would ask you to get rid of it. You weren't sure if you wanted that. If the father was a pirate, there was no way that the Navy would let you be. Not to mention Ace himself and his own issues concerning fathers. It had been hard enough getting him to open up to you and if he withdrew again, you didn't know if you could handle it. You didn't wanna lose him but this baby that you were carrying was a part of both of you and you couldn't just get rid of it like that. Not after everything your mother had done to keep you and not after everything Ace's mother had done to keep him. You couldn't do it, but you were still afraid to tell him and you were breaking down right there, crying. _

_"You were all cried out by the time Ace woke up. "Y/N, you're back. Did you see the doctor? Did she tell you what's wrong?" He asked with a concerned look. Obviously he was worried about your condition. _

_You wanted to tell him the truth, you wanted to say 'I'm having your baby', but you were too afraid to say it. You would tell him eventually, when it was too late to hide it. You would tell him someday._

_"You know, you're really beautiful when you're asleep." You smiled._

_"Huh? What are you talking about? Just tell me what the doctor said._

_"It's just a stomach bug. They gave me antibiotics." You lied. Ace frowned, looking over your face._

_"If that is everything, then why have you been crying? Are you in that much pain? Does your stomach hurt?" His concern and caring attitude made you want to cry again, because you loved him so much._

_"They gave me an injection at the clinic and you know I don't like needles. It's really painful that's why I cried." You said fighting off new tears threatening your eyes again. _

_Ace sighed and he shook his head. "You're such a crybaby Y/N."_

_He brought you closer to him and laid you down with_ _ _ your head on his lap, _ _ _looking up at the sky. As he ran his fingers through your hair, you fell asleep in his gentle warmth, not knowing what to do and wondering what the future held for the both of you.♤_

***  
Waiting was hard.

It had been days, weeks, and months since Sabo asked you to wait. If he had just outright rejected you, maybe it would have been better, but this was torture.

You tried your best not to push him, but it was hard not to. Maybe you went overboard too, torturing him as well. You would go out for a swim every other day in your too small bikini when he was home, you would make him his favourite meals, and you would always look your best around the house, going as far as waking up early to shower and groom yourself, making sure that he saw exactly what he was missing. To his credit, Sabo escaped to the Headquarters if things got too heated for him, either way, it wasn't helping either of you at all.

The last straw came one morning when you were cooking in the house, and humming. He was doing some paperwork in the living room too.

"That's a nice melody that you're humming, I like it." He said from the kitchen doorway.

"You better. It's yours." You said before you could stop yourself.

"Mine?"

You looked up at his face, he was frowning in confusion at your statement, unsure what you meant. Maybe you should have left the issue be, but you were just about ready to snap as he started walking towards you, getting closer every second.

You wanted him to stop.

You didn't want him to stop.

"That's right. I have the melody down, and yet no matter how hard I try to _wait,_ the lyrics keep writing themselves inside my heart, I really can't control my-"

"Y/N." His voice was piercing, the last thing you wanted to hear. He reached out to put his hand on your face. You immediately stepped away.

"If you do that, you'll make me think that I don't have to wait anymore." You warned him.

"It's not much longer, can't you be patient for a little bit more?" He asked.

"You said I wouldn't have to wait long. It's been months." You snapped. "Not much longer? How many months is that?"

"I'm doing the best I can, what do you want from me?"

You sighed. "Oh. It's my fault. Sorry for rushing you, it's just that you never tell me anything and I have to just sit here and pretend nothing's wrong."

"I'll explain everything in due time. I promise." Sabo said.

"All I want is for you to talk to me about it, we can work through whatever is keeping you away from me, together, can't we?"

He turned away. "It's my problem. I can't burden you with it."

That was it. You pushed past him, to your room and put a few clothes in Rouge's bag as well. You took the bag and the baby and you headed out.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

You faked a chipper smile. "Koala's on a mission. I thought I'd go spend a few days with Robin-san."

"Are you running away?" He asked quietly.

"That's your specialty. Not mine." With one final look, you left the house.

~

Okay, maybe you overreacted a little. Robin certainly thought so, but she was happy to have you and Rouge stay with her for a couple of days.

You went to work at Mesland School and Maya looked after Rouge for you when you were busy. Most of the time you were absent minded, wondering if Sabo would come and bring you home or if you would have to return with your tail between your legs.

It had only been a day after all and you already missed him. It was different from when he was away for work, this time you could reach him... except you couldn't.

In the late afternoon, you took Rouge from Maya and Kai who was with them. The two children seemed to get along quite splendidly recently.

"Y/N-san, are you walking home? But it's so far, you didn't bring your winrot?" Kai asked.

"No. I came with Robin-san, but I asked her to leave without me. A walk ought to clear my thoughts." You smiled.

"I'll walk with you." Kai offered. To be honest, you were glad for some company as the two of you quietly walked along the seaside, Rouge sleeping peacefully on your back.

You looked at the boy walking next to you, like you he seemed lost in thought.

"Is everything okay, Kai?" You asked.

"I had another memory." He admitted. "But it might have been a dream, I don't know."

"What happened?"

"I was a child, maybe five or six, and I was holding someone's hand, I couldn't see her face, but I think it might have been my mother." He looked down at the ground, kicking a seashell into the water.

"That's great. See, I told you it wasn't all bad memories." You said ruffling his hair.

The boy smiled. "Yeah, I just remembered being happy just walking with her. Kinda like I am with you right now." There was a teasing glint in his eyes. "What do you say? Should we hold hands? I bet you'll never want to let go..."

You laughed. "Sure. Although you'll probably never be able to hold anyone's hand again after Sabo breaks your fingers."

Kai shuddered slightly. "Yeesh. I wouldn't put it past him. But if I'm gonna lose my fingers anyway, maybe I should just touch you somewhere else instead..." He had to run up ahead to avoid you trying to slap him in the face.

He was laughing hysterically, clearly, he enjoyed teasing you. You also laughed with him imagining the look on Sabo's face if he ever heard Kai say that.

Kai frowned when you stopped in front of Koala's house. "You aren't going home?" He asked.

"I'm staying here for a few days." You said as nonchalantly as possible.

"Why? Did you and Sensei have a fight?"

You could have denied it, of course, but it must have shown on your face because Kai gasped. "You had a fight so big that you left home? Why? What did you fight about?"

You scratched your head. "Nothing for you to worry about."

"Y/N-san, is that why you've been spacing out all day? Did he do something wrong?" There was a hint of anger on his face. "Did he break your heart?"

"No." You sighed. "I just...I guess I want more than he's willing to give."

"Should I go punch him for you?" Kai offered.

You gave a sad smile. "He'll probably just let you punch him."

"I'm gonna do it anyway." Kai said and ran towards Sabo's house. You sighed again, not having the strength to follow him.

***

Sabo sat in the living room, pretending to be doing some paperwork, but in reality, he couldn't even see the words at all. He sighed, wondering what on earth he was doing at a time like this. Without you here, the house felt so empty it ached.

The sound of someone coming into the yard snapped him back to reality. He ran up and opened the door hopefully, only to find Kai.

The boy looked at the disappointment in his face. "Hoping I was someone else?" He asked.

Sabo turned around. "Did you need something? Y/N is not here."

"I know. Why are you letting her stay at Koala-san's house while you look so lonely in here?" Kai wondered.

"She's gonna come back."

Sabo saw the punch coming easily without using his Haki, he could have dodged it without a problem or counterstruck the boy, but he just took it. He let himself get hit squarely in the nose. Maybe this was what he needed after all.

"What if she doesn't? Are you okay with letting a woman like that go?" Kai shouted.

Sabo wiped the blood on his nose with a handkerchief, and suddenly feeling angry, shouted back, "Shut up! You don't know anything about what's going on between us!"

"You're right, I don't. But it's a commitment thing, isn't it? Y/N-san strikes me as someone who wants all or nothing. What's the matter, are you having doubts about your relationship?" The boy asked.

Sabo didn't say anything, simply stared at the ground.

"Hurting someone who loves you so much, how much of a jerk do you have to be? Someone else will snatch her up in no time, she-" Kai was saying.

"Never!" Sabo said sharply. "I will never give her to anyone else. I'd kill anyone who tries to lay their hands on her."

"So then, what are you doing here? Why aren't you giving your whole heart to her?"

"BECAUSE IT'S NOT WHOLE!" Sabo kicked the table. "It's in pieces and she deserves better than that!"

"Sensei. It should be her choice to take the pieces or not." Kai said gently.

Her choice?

The younger boy turned to the door. "You better work things out, and fast. There are lots of vultures waiting to swoop in if you leave your catch unguarded." He left.

Sabo stood up. Maybe it was time to face his demons after all. He'd kept you waiting long enough.

***  
Robin came into the bedroom where you sat, and took Rouge.

"Huh? Where are you two going?" You asked.

Robin smiled. "Someone's been pacing outside our gate for over an hour. Why don't you go and meet him?"

You stood up so quickly that you felt dizzy. You ran outside, just as he stepped inside the yard. Sabo strode over to you with a determined face.

"I'm not a coward." He said.

"I know that." You replied.

"I hate running. I'm good at making rational judgements and choices in the middle of a war and coming up with the best strategy to ensure our victory." He said. "But even so, I don't cut my losses and run, even if that's the rational choice, I always take the risk to save others."

You were quiet, wondering what was going on, why he was telling you this.

"But I'm also emotional. Sometimes I make mistakes and put others in danger because I act out of emotion rather than in the best interests of my allies. I'm not perfect, far from it." He said.

"And this is something that no one knows about, but me. My mind is a war zone and everyday I fight a battle to keep myself sane, so my weak mind won't forget anything important again. I struggle with the fear that one day I might forget this life too. Forget you and Rouge." He looks into your eyes. "Y/N, that's who I am. Is it okay for you to love that me?"

_♤He is _ _showing_ _ me who he is.♤_

"Yes." You said at once.

"Then tell me. I'm not sure if I'm ready to hear your words now. To take responsibility for them. But I can't ask you to wait anymore."

You blinked. Was he serious? "Are you sure?"

"You have trouble hiding your emotions, yet I asked you to wait. I'm sorry." He said.

"I'm used to waiting. It's not like-"

"Tell me, how you feel." He said.

You looked up at him in trepidation. "The last time I told you, you practically ran from me. You want to hear it? Are you sure?"

"No. Yes. I don't know." He admitted. "But I feel like I won't be able to function if I don't hear those words from you."

"I love you."

You watched as a multitude of emotions went through his face. His knees buckled and he fell down to the ground on his knees. He clutched your dress, and you felt him sobbing into it.

You didn't know whether to comfort him or let him be.

"I really am pathetic." He sobbed. "Hearing that made me so happy... To know that you feel the same way that I... I really do hate myself for this."

"Why would you..?"

"Because I know that if Ace were here, you'd be with him. But I...I'm glad that you're with me and not him. Does this mean...does this mean that I'm glad my brother's dead?" He bit his lip and looked up at you. Eyes filled with sorrow.

You put your hand over your mouth. All this time, he was struggling with something so heavy. You felt your own tears fall.

"Sabo."

""Initially, I wanted to deal with this on my own, so that you wouldn't see just how broken I am. I wanted to fix up those broken pieces pieces before I came to you. I'm sorry, but, it looks like you'll have to take me as I am now. I forgot about Ace, I wasn't there for him when he needed me and now that he's gone...here I am moving in on his girl..." He cried. "How can... I understand if you can't... Can you really, love someone like me?" His lip was quivering and he was looking at you with so much desperation.

You held out your hand to him, and as he took it, you felt the trembling of his hands in yours. Even though he was much stronger than you, he let you pull him up to his feet.

"Ace was my first love, so I'll always carry a part of him in my heart. He was your brother, so I understand your guilt. If that's who you are, then it's fine." You placed your other hand on his face, wiping his tears so that he could see you clearly. "So yes, Sabo. I love you, and I'll take you as you are. Broken pieces and all."

The shimmering blue eyes that stared back at you were something that you'd never forget. Hard as steel and soft as butter as he pulled you in for a hug, holding you as close to him as he could, as if he couldn't bear the thought of letting you go even for a second.

When he finally let go, he took both your hands in his. "I'm reckless in everything I do, but I always go all out. Prepare yourself, because I'm going to love you so much that you'll never be free of me again in your life."

You blushed and looked down on the ground.

"Look at me." He ordered and you couldn't find it in you to look away anymore. "I love you, very much."

Had he not been holding you, you'd have fallen from the unbearable heat that his words sent through your body. You closed your eyes so you could gather your thoughts.

He didn't let you.

The moment you closed your eyes, you felt his lips on yours, softer than the last time, with no rush in his emotions, after all, he'd already said everything in words. Or maybe he was just being cautious, letting you accept him slowly.

A chuckle from the doorway caused you to open your eyes.   
"No need to hold back. I'll look after Rouge-chan _all night._" Robin said.

"Huh?" You asked confused.

But Sabo was smiling as he pulled you by your hand out of the gate. "Thanks Robin. You're the best." He said.

You turned back to glance at the archaeologist trying to understand the unspoken wink she was sending your way, before it dawned on you.

"Wait, you don't mean... that's not... we aren't...?" You stuttered, the wind in your face, because Sabo was running and you could only keep up because he was dragging you by your hand.

"Oh, yes we are." He said as you passed the last house before reaching home.

You barely managed to close the door into the house before he swooped in on you.

You were right, he had just been cautious when kissing you before. But all those inhibitions were gone now, and you found yourself fighting to breathe as he pinned you between the kitchen wall and himself. You finally pushed him away when he tried to tear the t-shirt you were wearing into pieces.

"Hold on..hold on..." You gasped. "Geez, someone's eager. Hold on.."

Sabo groaned and stepped back.

"Aren't you moving a bit too fast? I mean, we _just_ got together, less than fifteen minutes ago!" You said sternly.

"So what? We've waited long enough, haven't we?" He asked. He moved closer to you again, the magnitude of emotion in his eyes weighing you down a little, after all you were already all hot and bothered from his earlier eagerness. "You've been teasing me for months...are you saying you don't want to give your body to me?"

_♤Damn. Of course I want to. How can I not when you look at me like that?♤_

"I'm not on anything though." You mumbled. "I doubt you keep any protection around here."

He grinned. "Are you afraid we'll give Rouge a little brother or sister?"

"A little." You admitted. "Okay, just for tonight, I'll you do it without any worries. But not here. Let's go up to your-" He didn't even let you finish before he carried you in a single motion in his arms, up the stairs and into his room.

Once there, Sabo removed your t-shirt and threw it on the ground before kissing you again, his hands roaming all over your body and, before unclasping your bra, he ran his hands on the scales on your back making you shiver in anticipation and wish to melt into him.

You were quick to undo the buttons on his shirt and just before you got to the last one, he stopped your hand.

"You're hesitating now?" You asked.

"No." He said, an unsure look on his face. "It's just...there's more..."

"More what?"

"Scars."

So, he was feeling insecure about his scars again. "You've already seen my scales, there's nothing for you to worry about."

Sabo shook his head. "That's different. Your scales are beautiful."

You ripped open the shirt, catching him off guard. There were three burn scars on his body. A large one over his chest, and two small ones on his abdomen. In all honesty though, the dark brown to red skin stood out against the pale lean muscles of his torso. The contrast of them, of his well defined muscles against those patches of burned skin accentuated the tone of his entire body, making him look absolutely-

"Beautiful..." You whispered.

Surprise dawned on his face at your words as you moved up and kissed the scars he loathed, almost as if you were healing the pain inflicted on him by that accident, and all the consequences of his injury. Almost as if your touch was reaching deep into all the broken pieces inside him, urging them to come together, to yield for you.

"I love you." He said.

You already knew that, but that night, he showed you just how much. Him making love to you was not at all like you'd imagined it would be. Sure he slowed down when he needed to, but mostly though, you were barely able to keep up with his forcefulness.

Sabo hadn't lied when he said he went all out in everything that he did, he came at you with unbelievable fervour, and your body melted at the strength he possessed. With his fingers alone, he was able to send you into an uncontrollable fit and lose yourself in that moment of thrilling pleasure.

Your body responded too well to him inside you, holding on desperately to all of him, drinking it all in as he moved with insane vigour into you. It didn't take long for him to send you over the edge, to a space where you only felt what he wanted you to feel and shook in the last moment sinking into the epitome of bliss. You shuddered again when you watched his face in his moment of gratification, his eyes closed with only a moan coming from his flushed, sweating but content face.

Over and over again until both of you could barely breathe. You fell asleep in each other's arms, finally truly belonging to each other.

He was holding you when you woke up the following morning, so you knew that this wasn't a dream.

"Morning." He said.

"Morning." You smiled. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Anything you make is perfect for me."

You giggled. "Keep saying stuff like that and I'll give you whatever you want."

He leaned down and kissed your forehead. "I already have what I want." He said. "Y/N, move in here. To my room."

"What?" You sat up.

"We can turn your room into a nursery for Rouge. She's old enough to sleep on her own." He said.

"She's one year and four months old!" You shook your head.

"Then put a baby monitor snail in her room. I want you here." Sabo pleaded.

"But..."

"I want to wake up next to you like this all the time. I know I can't promise to be here every day, hell not even every week or every month, but when I am here, I want to spend every day and night with you." He said pulling you closer. "Just think about it, okay."

***


	16. A Warning

"I don't want to leave." Sabo said holding on to a blanket on your bed even though it was already late.

Honestly, you didn't want him to leave either, but you were still sleeping in different rooms, so it was not ideal for him to stay longer in your room with Rouge sleeping there.

"Get out of here, go." You ordered.

He gave a small whine in protest but you pushed him out of the bed. "Come on, please just move in with me." He asked.

"Not yet."

"Please...my pretty mermaid princess?"

A cheesy line like that, it was crazy that it got you, and you felt yourself blushing needlessly as you failed to hide it.

"Oh? Is that working?" He said turning your face back to him and making you feel the gentle touch of his hand on your face. "You should have told me if that's what you're into, you know....I can make it worth your while."

"S-stop teasing me!" You said trying to hide your face again.

"Please, Your Highness, your humble subject begs for your attention..."

"Shut up! Get out!" You attacked him with your pillow and he laughed as he slid off the bed.

"Seriously, though, you better move in soon. I don't like sleeping alone anymore now that I've got you." Sabo said before leaving.

Of course you wanted to. Sure you had reservations because you didn't want to move too fast, but your relationship with Sabo had never been a normal one. You'd been living together for over a year already, and moving into his room which was bigger and more spacious was the best choice. Perhaps it was time you thought about letting Rouge sleep alone as well as you did not want her to turn out like you.

But mostly, you really loved the idea of waking up next to Sabo every morning.

~

Koala returned from her mission a few days later than expected.  
The next day, she came to help you with moving. Seeing as she was away when you and Sabo got together, she was positively itching for details on the encounter.

"I already told you everything like three times, Koala, what more do you want me to say?" You asked as you packed your clothes into Sabo's closet.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I'm so happy for him. I've watched Sabo-kun struggle so much with his guilt, especially when it came to you. I'm really glad that you were able to help him to start getting through everything." She said. "Besides, I have been rooting for the two of you since forever!"

"You have?"

"Of course I have. That idiot has never even looked at a girl before, and suddenly he finds someone that he's willing to do so much for, and not just out of his standard good nature. Of course I wanted you two to be together." She smiled.

You couldn't help but share her sentiment. "You know, carrying boxes and cleaning things up like this reminds me if the day that we first met.... That day though, moving was much easier because Robin-san was with us."

"Hmm, I'm going out of my way to help you and yet you are complaining? It's not my fault that Robin went with Dragon-san to observe the battlefield at Darting Island. So I'm sorry if I'm not good eno-" Koala started but you giggled and linked your arm to hers.

"Come on, don't sulk, you're my favourite person in the world!" You laughed.

"Don't let Sabo-kun hear that." She shook her head. "He's been training Kai for a couple of hours already, don't you think they might be hungry?"

"Yeah, let's finish up here and I'll go and make lunch for them. Rouge is gonna wake up soon too." You concurred. "She'll be waking up to a new room. I'm kinda a little scared that she'll be sleeping by herself to be honest."

"Y/N-chan, there's a simple solution to that. Stay with your cute baby girl instead of moving into your boyfriend's room."

_♤Boyfriend.♤_

You couldn't stop the blush that crept over your cheeks at that word. It was true, Sabo was your boyfriend now, for real and not just as a cover story. It was surreal for you to even think about and it brought a smile to your face.

"What's this? You're completely smitten aren't you?" Koala teased, picking up your bookcase.

"What do you mean smitten? I'm completely fine. Besides, about what you said, I can't just decide to not move, Sabo has been pestering me for days now, I can't disappoint him." You huffed.

The brown haired girl smiled, "You act like you were coerced into it, but you actually can't wait, can you?"

"Shut up." You said making the bed.

"Oh? This book is..." Koala muttered looking at your bookcase.

You glanced over to see that she was holding 'A Perfect World.' in her hands with a curious look in her eye.

"That's my favourite book in the whole world. Life was hard for me as a lone teenage girl in the Grand Line, and I almost returned to the home that I ran away from. But on a certain island, members of the Revolutionary Army were handing out free copies of this book even though the World Government banned it. Reading it and understanding the author's views on freedom and what it truly means, encouraged me to not return to that toxic environment."

"I see, so this book is very important to you then?"

"Yup." You said looking at the worn out cover. "Just thinking about how my brother and I parted ways, I can't imagine ever going back to the Tombe Kingdom. "

_♤After the death of your mother, you grew up in the palace, never once seeing the king's face. Nana raised you herself, and your authority figure was your eldest brother Kairo. He was very strict on both you and your second eldest brother, Larcko, caring mostly about preserving the image of the royal family in the kingdom and imposed set rules and duties for you to follow. You were ten when you finally understood why you were so different from your brothers and your father. It was then that you finally understood that you were an outsider, perhaps that was why the king did not want to see your face. _

_It took a lot of courage for you to finally ask Nana about your biological father. But Nana did not know much about him either seeing as it had been a secret affair. In fact all that you knew about him was what your mother had said to you on her deathbed. You finally got what she was trying to tell you about you one day possibly resenting her. You resolved to leave the Tombe Kingdom as you turned sixteen, maybe you would find your father's family_.

_That was what you originally decided but unfortunately life got in the way and you had to leave even sooner than you'd anticipated. Your father, the king, died when you were eleven and your older brother Kairo took over the kingdom. In the summer of your 12th birthday Kairo called you up to his office to talk with you._

_"You called, ___Brother-sama."__ _You said bowing before him. It had been a while since you've been able to talk to him alone like this. He'd been running all over the place trying to get the country to stabilise the kingdom as __it's__ new ruler. It was a lot of work dor him and it showed on his exhausted face. It meant that he had to make new alliances as well as to reach out to the people that the previous king was allied with, so he could keep up the alliances and the relationships that his father had built._

_"Good you are here." He said looking up. "Have you been well? Not doing anything bad I hope, seeing as I _ _haven't_ _ had time to check on you."_

_It irked you how he was primarily concerned with you doing mischief than with your health, but you held it in. "I am well, how about you, Brother-sama?"_

_"Alright. Now, as you probably know, the three kingdom of our Island are currently in a state _ _of_ _ peace, but I cut off some trade routes for our minerals from _ _them_ _. So, sooner or later, we're going to have to fight for complete domination and power in this island. I need you to play a part in ensuring that our kingdom remains standing." Kairo said formally._

_"I _ _don't_ _ understand, I _ _don't_ _ know anything about politics." You said in confusion. "I haven't spoken to you alone in months and you haven't said anything to me that didn't have anything to do with the country, you know that?"_

_"What does that have to do with anything?" Kairo asked. "I told you I have no time to spend with you, playing or whatever it is that you spend your days doing in the _ _West_ _ palace. Well, that's about to change."_

_"I don't understand."_

_"Like I was saying, before you rudely interrupted me. We are going to need powerful allies so that we can keep our kingdom safe. Germa 66 recently left the North, and rumour has it they're looking to conquer the East Blue and then, they're going to come back here to reclaim their place here and get back some land. There is nothing better than allying with a powerful kingdom like them for a growing one like ours."_

_You did not say anything at _ _first_ _ as you remembered meeting the royal family from Germa 66 at the royal summit a few years ago. It was not a _ _pleasant_ _ experience for you. _

_"What does this have to do with me?" You asked._

_"I will arrange a marriage between you and the youngest child of the German 66." He told you._

_Your eyes widened in surprise and immediately, you took a step back and got down on your knees and bowed your head. "Brother-sama, please take back that order. It's not something that I can do." You said._

_"What do you mean? All I need to do is send the request to them and if they accept, and they will, you will marry the boy. It's that simple." Kairo explained._

_"No it's not!" You said. "Germa is both feared and despised here in the north. You want to extend that to us as well? And besides all that, I've met the three _ _princes_ _ of that kingdom at the royal summit before. They weren't very nice. I didn't like any of them." They were rude and insensitive to the other royal members and you steered clear of them _ _because_ _ of their reputation as well._

_"So what?"_

_"I'm only 12 years old! what are you talking about marriage for?" You shouted._

_"It is _ _just_ _ an engagement proposal for now, so don't get all twisted up about it okay? It's not a big deal."_

_"What do you mean it's not really a big deal? I don't wanna get married to some rude jerk from a kingdom of villains just so you can keep your throne! It's not my fault that you can't stabilise the kingdom on your own." You shouted kairos dude up abruptly and you know that you said too much, maybe more than you should have when you were trying to spite him. "I'm sorry Brother-sama, I didn't _ _mean-"_

_"What did you just say to me? You think you're better than marrying a member of a royal family? You? Tell me something, who do you think will want to marry something like you?" His voice was raised and he looked angry._

_You trembled in disbelief. "How can you say that to me? I'm your sister!"_

_"Yes. But, what, you think I don't know that only a part of you is human? You should just shut up and accept this. It is the best offer that you are ever gonna get."_

_"Brother-sama!" You said in shock at the callous nature of his words. You started stepping back, moving away from him._

_"Listen, and pay close attention. I've taught you to the best of my abilities how to uphold the honour and dignity of the royal family. This is because I did not want you to end up bringing even more disgrace to us. But I suppose I can expect much from someone whose very existence is shameful." Kairo sneered. "I'll tell you this one thing, you are going to get married and we're going to gain military strength in exchange for the minerals that we mine here because Germa 66 can use them to make weapons do you understand?" _

_"Brother-sama, Larcko has already gotten married as per your wishes. You got married as per father's wishes as well. Don't any of us get to choose the people that we spend the rest of our lives with?" You asked._

_"People like us are born with responsibility to protect our country. It's something that mother failed to understand, something that you seem to fail to grasp as well. We don't get to choose how we live our lives." His voice was unwavering, unchanging and yet for some reason you could detect the faint whiff of sadness coming from him. _

_"Do as you're told. This is my final word, I'm going to send the proposal of an engagement to the King of German 66. You are dismissed."_

_"But Brother-sama-"_

_"I said, you are dismissed."_

_The palace had never really been home for you but suddenly after your meeting with your brother, it was the first time that you ever found the place to be suffocating. You felt like if you stayed there you would never be able to truly be yourself. You wanted to leave, to run from this place as fast as you could. Remembering your mother's words to always be true to yourself and don't let anyone dictate your life, that evening you knocked on Nana's door._

_"Nana, I'm leaving this place. I can't stay here anymore. I feel like a part of me will die if I continue to live in this palace." You said clearly to her. _

_She was surprised but the old woman was quick on the uptake. "I understand if you want to leave and I'll be coming with you." She said._

_"You don't have to."_

_"You don't understand. You are a child under my care. You can't leave this place without me. How can I face Kairo-sama if I let you go by yourself? Besides, I promised your mother that you wouldn't grow up like her. I said that you would add lots and lots of verses to the song in your heart. That's what I promised her. So I'm coming with you wherever it is you're going." She said._

_"Well alright, if that's what you want." You told her._

_The two of you left at the end of that week. It was dark when the you left. You didn't have much that you packed really, you carried only the goggles that your mother brought you, the only gift that she ever gave you as a child and a few clothes in a backpack. You and Nana _ _ventured_ _ across the island trying to leave but it wasn't smooth sailing for the two of you. _

_Kairo found you just before you were due to board a ship that would take you across the North Blue to a different island. He found you at the port there and dragged you away to a secluded part of it where there was no one but just the two of you._

_"So, you thought you could run from me, did you? Fleeing from your responsibilities, that's something that you got from mother." He spat._

_"Shut up. I will not stand for you insulting our mother. She did a lot for me even though she was dying she still had time to raise me. Don't insult her!" You shot back._

_"Well whatever. Where do you think you're going by yourself, no with that nursemaid of yours? Do you think she can protect you from the dangers of the world after living such a sheltered life as you have?" He asked._

_"I don't care. The outside world is better than living under your rule. Having the entirety of my life planned out, being watched! I can't stand that." You told him._

_"Unbelievable!" He said and grabbed you by the arm furiously, making you drop the goggles that you were carrying. Your prized possession fell to the ground._

_"No. Mother gave those to me!" You cried._

_"Oh, did she now?" He said, his face darkening. He stepped on the goggles and shattered them to bits. "Now you don't have anything to return home for."_

_"Why?" You asked. "Why do you even want me _ _back_ _?"_

_"Oh, you think I'm here to bring you back? Don't be stupid. Why would I want you back in the kingdom? You're nothing but a thorn in my side that I could not get rid of. Having you out of the way is good for me." He said._

_"You came all this way to tell me that? How can you say that to me? I am a child, and your sister!" _ _You_ _ cried. "This is exactly the reason why I left. I really have no reason to be here." You yanked your arm away from him and turned your _ _back_ _ to him, _ _leaving_ _._

_"Hmm? Is that so?" He said to your back. "Don't you want to know what happened to your father?" You stood still in a moment of surprise that he even dared to mention that._

_"Your biological father." Kairo clarified as if it wasn't already clearing his first sentence. _

_You didn't turn around, instead, you spoke with your back to him. "He died. Father-sama killed him when he found out that he was having an affair with mother." You spike through _ _gritted_ _ teeth. "That's why Father-sama could never look at me, right? That's why he always he had me living the west palace most distant from him." _

_"What you think you know is not the truth." Kairo said. You whipped around and looked at him. "The previous king didn't kill your father. I did."_

_You stumbled back in shock at his words. That he would say something like that to you, that it could possibly be true all unnerved you. "What are you saying? You asked in a shaky voice._

_"How dare he, a servant look at his master's wife! A mere fish like him dared to defile our mother, the Queen!" Kairo cursed with a disgusted look on his face._

_"Take that back take those words right now." You screamed._

_But he didn't stop. "That's right mother tried to run away with him when she found out she was pregnant, but I chased them off. I wouldn't let them leave. I would have slashed her belly too killing you before you were born, but mother pleaded with me. Can you imagine the Queen bowing down to save a child that is only half a person?" _

_"Half a person? Is that what you think of me?" You said trembling. _

_"Yes."_

_"Why are you like this?" You asked. "I just wanted a family, a real family, people who would stay with me.I'm your sister, how can you despise me so much?"_

_"Yes, you are my sister. You were born to a queen so you are a princess, that is a fact that I accepted just before you were born. I had to." He said. "But you want a family? Listen to me, me and Larcko are the only people who will ever accept you in this world. Because we have to. We are your brothers. But Y/N, don't think that anyone else in the world is going to accept you. You won't find a place anywhere."_

_"You're wrong! My father's family-"_

_"You think you'll find a place among the fish? Well, you are wrong. They will not accept you _ _either_ _, they hate humans. Do you understand? There is no place in this world for a half-breed. When you realise that you will come back to this place. I will be waiting for you."_

_"I'm never coming back! I hate this place and I hate you!" You screamed in tears. That was the first time _ _that_ _ you ever released a sonic wave that hurt someone. You sent him falling to the ground, covering his ears. _

_Tears were rolling down your face and you jumped into the water and swam away. Swimming away from everything, from the pain and wishing you didn't know the truth. You swam in the ocean among the sea creatures, dodging __deal_ _king's__ and only coming up to the surface once in a while. You swam for days, weeks and months until you reached the Grand Line. _

_You did not see Nana again for years until Ace hired Ledio to find _ _her_ _ for you.♤_

"I understand." Koala said. "But didn't Sabo tell you about this book?"

You frowned. "Tell me what?"

The puzzled look on her face was replaced by amusement. "Hmm, maybe he is embarrassed. I'm sure you'll find out in due time."

"Find out what?"

"Nothing." She giggled. "Come on, let's finish up or else those two aren't going to have anything to eat when they are done."

She gave no indication whatsoever on what she could have possibly meant, so you reluctantly let the matter go.

***

The boys washed up and came in for lunch.

You made a large helping of grilled chicken with roast vegetables with a potato salad on the side.

"This looks amazing, Y/N!" Sabo could barely get the words out seeing as he was drooling so much. "Thank you for the food."

As always, it was extremely satisfying to watch him eat your food with so much zeal. All table manners forgotten, he dug in with his hands, eating as if someone might steal his food.

"What do you see in him?" Koala asked exasperated as Sabo swallowed a chicken leg, bones and all, in one go.

"My sentiments exactly." Kai said as he began to eat too. "Y/N-san, is it my imagination, or is my food a lot more than sensei?"

Sabo turned sharply to inspect Kai's plate and reached out to take a piece of meat from his plate, but you stopped him.

"Stop. I gave a lot to Kai because he helped us so much. We might not be together if not for him." You said. Of course this earned you a complaint which you weren't able to hear because Sabo's mouth was full. However, you had a pretty good idea what it was all about. "You can have seconds, I promise."

That seemed satisfactory enough. The rest of the meal was pleasant as you finished feeding Rouge her potatoes and had your own meal. You then brought seconds for Sabo, and quite a few more plates too. He managed to out eat everyone else on the table _combined_.

"He's a monster." Kai said walking to the kitchen to wash up.

You started collecting the dishes when you were sure that he was done eating.

"Thanks for the food." Sabo said and then in a whisper that only you could hear, he added. "Your Highness."

You gave him a death glare which did not match up to what you were feeling inside, an uncontrollable heartbeat and a need to hear him say that again.

He chuckled slightly, and continued his conversation with Koala.

"I meant to ask you about this earlier since I didn't get everything from your report yesterday. Were you able to find anything out before they ambushed you?" Sabo asked.

Koala shook her head. "Not a lot. We were supposed to be doing some recon, but if not for Tetsu spotting those ridiculous masks that CP0 wears, they might have caught on to us. We had to lie low for a couple of days."

"Well, as long as they didn't see you, that's fine." Sabo said.

Suddenly, you felt an intense emotional surge from Kai. For his emotions to reach you even when you weren't looking for them, meant that something was wrong. You turned sharply to him and found him with blank looking eyes, hands on his head. He doubled over and fell to the ground.

"Kai!" You shouted in alarm and ran over to him.

He looked completely pale, as if all the blood had been drained from his face as he said in a shaky voice, "Three...seven...five...nine."

And then he fainted.

"What's wrong?" Sabo asked also coming to the kitchen.

He crouched down and took Kai's pulse. "He seems fine." He said and then he raised Kai's legs and the boy stirred.

"Can you hear me?" Sabo asked.

Kai opened his eyes and then abruptly closed them again.

"Yeah, sorry, I just feel a little lightheaded." Kai said monotonously. "I think I just need some rest."

"Are you sure that you're okay? You look pale still." You asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, it's just a headache." He muttered, eyes still closed.

"Alright, then get some rest in there." Sabo instructed and helped him up, taking him to sleep in Nana's room.

~

"He's not saying anything, and he was making strange pained sounds. I'm sure something's wrong." You said to Sabo a few hours later.

"Y/N, he says it's just a headache. According to him, he just felt faint, and he's not sick or anything. I must have pushed him too hard in training today." Sabo sighed scratching his head.

You shook your head, convinced that there was something else going on here. "If it was just fatigue, then what was up with the sudden rise in emotion that I felt. I couldn't tell what emotion he was emitting because I wasn't searching for it, but I feel like this is a bad omen... I think he might have had a memory. I need to talk to him."

"He doesn't want to talk. Even if you're right, and it is a memory, I don't think there's anything we can do about it if he doesn't want to talk." He had a serious look on his face. "Memories are delicate things, and it's not always easy to share your past with others. He'll tell you what's wrong on due time."

A frustrated groan escaped from your mouth, "I'm going in." You said pushing open the door.

An unexpected wave of upheaval hit you when you entered Nana's room. It hadn't changed one bit despite its own not being here anymore. Seeing Nana's stuff all over the room, untouched, like she would walk in here any second and scold you for getting into her room without knocking was overwhelming. You trembled slightly and held on to the door for balance.

"Y/N-san, are you alright?" Kai said sitting up on the bed. You straightened up, trying to hold in the feelings that were threatening to overcome you any second now. After all, this was not about you.

"How are you feeling?" You asked with a forced smile.

"I'm feeling refreshed after a little sleep. I appreciate you guys letting me sleep here, and I'm sorry to impose." He smiled.

His eyes had life in them again, no longer blank slares like they had bewn earlier. This was a relief to you. You searched for something unfamiliar in his emotions, a lie perhaps? However, you detected nothing of the sort. "You just up and fainted, do you know why?" You asked.

He stiffened slightly and tried to laugh it off. "Ha, maybe you should tell your boyfriend to take it easy on me."

A lie.

"Kai."

"It's nothing to worry about, I just remembered something unpleasant, that's all." He said turning away.

"Will you tell me about it?" You asked.

"It was strange, like I was seeing the real me coming out through my memories. It scares me, because it feels like something terrible is gonna happen." He shuddered. "An omen, like some kind of a warning for a disaster to come."

"Kai, what do you-"

"No." Kai sat up. "I should go, I've imposed enough."

"You can stay the night." You offered.

"No. I gotta go. Sorry." He practically jumped up, out of the bed, leaving quickly as if he would rather be anywhere else than here right now.

***

It was nighttime now and Sabo sat at his desk doing some paperwork as usual. You sat on the bed sighing as you watched him.

"Is Her Royal Highness sulking because I'm not paying attention to her?" He teased without even turning to look at you.

You pouted. "What's all the paperwork anyway?"

"I feel like Dragon-san purposely leaves the island when there's a lot of paperwork to be done, so that it all remains to be done by me." Sabo shook his head. "Now he's out and I'm the one in charge so I'm the one that has to read and interpret all the mission reports and complete all the relocation records."

"I don't think Dragon-sama is that sly." You smiled. You stood up and went to stand by the window looking at the darkness outside. "What are you so busy with anyway?" You asked.

"I suppose it won't hurt to tell you." He said closing the file. "The truth is we're moving our base of operations from Baltigo."

"What?" You asked sharply, turning back to him.

"Yeah, we are currently trying to find places to move everyone because not everyone can go with us to the new base."

"What do you mean? What about all the refugees, the students and all the people who live here?" You asked.

"I mean if there are people who want to live here they can continue staying here, that's fine but we won't be bringing back any refugees back to Baltigo. Right now we are doing missions like the one that Koala was on, in which they scout out different islands and see how suitable they are for receiving refugees. As for the officers and the soldiers, we're just going to have to move them to different bases that we have around the world. This is just the main one, but we have plenty of others in the four blues and also here in the Grand Line." Sabo explained.

"But then why move at all? It's okay if you can't tell me." You added.

"Hmm, we're planning something big for next year so we need to get closer to the Red Line."

"I see." You said turning back to the window. "So this place isn't really home after all. Where are you gonna go?" You asked.

You felt him come up behind you and stand there. Sabo put his arm around your waist from behind and you could feel his chest on your back.

"I think you mean, where are _we_ going to go." He said into your ear and you shivered slightly at both his closeness and the impact of his words.

"Yes, where we going to go?"

"Probably Momoiro Island." He told you.

"I like that place." You said. "Honestly though, I don't care where we are as long as I'm with you and Rouge. Where you are are that's where my family is, so I guess that's my home." 

"You are so sweet." He smiled. "Tell me, what's with the frown lines? What's wrong?"

"Do you think Kai will be okay? I mean he said something about a warning. I'm really worried about him." You said.

"I know." Sabo agreed. "I'll check in on him tomorrow. I think we need to keep an eye on him. It's very dangerous for him if he really is getting his memories back and they're unpleasant. We just need to watch him for a while."

"Alright." You said. "I hope nothing goes wrong."

"I hope so too."

***


	17. Kai

You were still worried about Kai the next day but he did not act like there was anything wrong. In actual fact, he seemed rather too normal. During his training session with Sabo, he did as he was told and he he even seemed to be in even better shape than usual even you could tell just by watching from a distance without being part of their sparring. He was moving quicker than usual, so quick that it was even hard for you to follow his movements and it made you dizzy.

Eventually, they took a break and Sabo said to him, "You've gotten quite used to using _soru,_ you're not as sloppy as you were last week when you first discovered you could use it."

"You think so? Thank you, Sensei, it's all because of your guidance." Kai bowed.

"Perhaps, but it's because of your dedication as well, you've been working hard for a while." Sabo said. "Even your movements are not all over the place, and your attacks are a lot more defined. Your training seems to be progressing very well maybe, it's because your body is moving better."

"I think that I remember how I used to move, and how I used to fight." Kai said sitting down in exhaustion. "I think that it's because my memories are coming back so maybe that's why."

"Very well, that's good, it means you will be able to reach a higher level soon and I'll be able to teach you new things." Sabo told him.

"Really? Then does that mean that you'll take me into the field when you go on a mission?" Kai practically begged.

"No way. Going on a mission is not a simple thing that anyone can just do. Until I'm sure that you can fight by yourself and protect yourself along with your comrades, I'm not taking you anywhere." Sabo refused.

"But Sensei, you just praised me, and said that I improved!"

"I did, but it's not enough."

"Aren't you being a little too overprotective, Sensei?" Kai pushed.

"Dumbass, why would I protect you?" Sabo hit him over the head.

"I know! Exactly! So take me with you!"

"No."

Watching them now, it looked like everything was okay, maybe you were worrying needlessly you thought as you went upstairs to do some cleaning.

~

Something surprising happened when you were cleaning you and Sabo's bedroom, looking through the files on his desk. You found that there was a small box hidden under the desk and inside it there were a few old papers. You wondered if they were still useful things or if they were things that needed to be thrown away, so you decided to look through them and check and them properly so that you would ask Sabo later what to do with them. As you opened and looked through a few papers in the box, you found something that caught your eye. A manuscript.

Outside on the cover was written; _'First draft: A Perfect World by Sabo'_ At first, you thought there was no way it could be the same book that you were thinking about, so you opened it to read the first few pages and you were surprised that it was that same book.

In amazement, you read through the pages and it was really a rough of the book that you loved so much, A Perfect World. The book that got you through a lot of troubles when you were just a child searching for a home. You looked at it, surely this couldn't be! Sabo wrote this book? He really wrote it!

_♤But then why _ _didn't_ _ he tell _ _me_ _?♤_

You put the book down and finished cleaning waiting for Sabo to return from his training. When he came back, you shoved the book in his face. Frowning, he caught it and looked at it. He then scratched his head and spoke.

"I didn't know that still existed, I can't believe that I still have it." He said.

"Don't give me that! This is the draft for A Perfect World that has as the author! Sabo, did you write this book?" You asked.

"Yeah." He said with a nervous laugh. "I did. I was about 14 at the time, after a certain incident happened and I wanted to make a difference in the world I guess. That's why I started writing. I didn't know it at the time but ever since I was a child it's always been my dream to travel around the world and see different places and then write a book about all the things that I've seen."

"It's funny, but I didn't know that I was fulfilling my dream at the time, I was just frustrated by something that I couldn't control and I wrote it hoping the book would help someone." He concluded.

"It helped me and you know this, I already told you that I really really love this book. How come you didn't tell me that you are the one that wrote it?" You asked stepping closer to him.

He sighed, "Well there was never really any time for me to talk about it you know, it was kinda embarrassing..."

"Sabo!"

"You said that that book was the most precious book you ever had. A treasure above everything else because it helped you when you were alone... I just thought maybe, you know, it'll be better for you if the author remained an anonymous guy somewhere." He defended himself.

"How could you possibly think that? The fact that you wrote this means that you're the one who got me through that dark time. I'm really happy about it." You said touching his face with your hand.

"Really?"

"Of course. I'm really grateful for the Sa-chan." You giggled and stood on your tiptoes, and kissed him. You put your arms around his neck and smiled at him.

"Hmm," He said placing his hand on your back. "If I'd known you'd react this way, I'd have bragged about it from the beginning."

"Still, I can't believe I can believe that even when we were still young, the threads of fate were already beginning to connect us like this." You smiled as he kissed you this time.

"I don't know, I feel like this might be a sign or something." He said leaning down and kissing you as well.

"I like the sound of that."

***

Dragon returned from his journey two days later, lightening the work load on Sabo and giving the two of you more time to spend together. Somehow it seemed like the most precious moments in your life were the ones you spent with the man you loved.

An unbelievable incident occurred one day while you were working at Mesland School in the morning with Dinah. Maya ran towards the two of you, out of breath and trembling. Immediately you knew that something was wrong seeing as she looked both sick and afraid.

"Maya what's wrong?" You asked. She handed you a small plastic with a tiny black tablet inside.

"What is that?" Dinah asked. Maya attempted to respond but she seemed to have forgotten how to use sigh language in her shock and attempted to actually talk.

Maya was gasping for breath, holding her throat. It was unlike her to be so panicked.

"K... K... K..." She seemed to be trying to say something.

"Dinah, get a pen and paper." You shouted and Dinah hurriedly brought the requested items.

Maya's hand shook even as she wrote it down.

_'_ _Kai tried to kill himself.'_

It was a strange fear that came over you as you rushed to the dorms. You were very worried about the boy as you ran through the corridors of Mesland School until you reached Kai's dorm. He was collapsed on the floor, clearly still breathing, but only barely. He was still conscious but clearly weak. You were not blessed with arm strength by nature but somehow on hat day, he felt like a feather as you carried him and ran outside.

Dinah drove the winrot and you sat in the back with the boy's head on your lap as he struggled to breathe. You did not have the luxury of worrying about why he could have done something like this at a time like today. For some reason, the small hospital at Mesland Market seemed even further than it actually was but you finally reached it.

Sensing an emergency, the nurses hurried out to help you as they paged the doctor.

"What happened?" The nurse asked.

"According to a friend who was with him, he took this." Dinah said handing a small pill that you got from Maya to the nurse.

"Poison?" She muttered. "Very well, wait out here. We'll take care of him."

For some reason it felt wasteful yo you, sitting out here, unable to help that child one bit. You were beginning to shake as you sat there waiting for any news regarding his condition.

"I have a baby transponder snail with me. Do you want me to call Sabo-san?" Dinah asked, clearly worried about your constitution.

You nodded. He needed to know about this as well and, you needed him here for comfort and reassurance. He was close to Kai too, so you were sure that he would want to check up on the boy as well.

Sabo came to the hospital as soon as he could. As soon as you saw him, you could not hold back the tears of sorrow that you had been trying to bite back all this time. You fell into his arms and cried sadly as he held you there.

"How is he?" Sabo asked.

"I don't know. They haven't said anything, they just have him in there, and I don't know what to do if....if..." You chocked on your tears. " He could barely breathe on our way here.... If something happens to Kai, I..."

"He's a strong kid. He'll pull through, he won't give up. He wouldn't like you worrying so much about him." Sabo tried to reassure you.

"But why would he do this?" You asked. "With the way he's been acting lately, I should have known something was wrong! If only I had spoken to him...".

"Come on, don't blame yourself. If he had wanted help, he would have asked for it. We have to do what we can now, okay, let us not leave him to suffer on his own anymore." Sabo said.

It was nice to have him in your corner in a time like this and you were grateful that he was there for you. The door opened and the doctor came out.

"How is he?" You asked.

"Well; the gastric lavage was sucessful, thankfully, it was not long since he had ingested the poison." He said.

"Can we see him?" You wanted to know.

The doctor nodded. "Yes, but he may have difficulty talking and his throat may be sore."

"Okay." You said attempting to take Sabo with you inside.

"Um, Sabo-san, can you spare me a second?" THe doctor asked.

Sabo looked surprised for a moment, but the doctor had a serious expression on his face, so he said. "Go ahead and see him, I'll give you two some time to talk alone while I speak with Dr. Mansfield."

The situation was strange, but you did not care at all, all you were worried about w as Kai's condition.

Inside the hospital room, Kai lay on the bed, looking drained, and his face was as white as a ghost, he looked barely alive. You noticed that even though his face shifted towards you, he wore a dark blindfold so you could not see his eyes. The rest of his body did not move because he was chained to the bed.

"Why is he chained up?" You asked the nurse who was busy setting up an IV bag for him.

"He is a suicide risk, this is a precaution that we must take to make sure that he does not try it again." She said.

It may have seemed extreme but you understood why they did it. Still, you felt like they used too many chains on him, it wasn't like he was being imprisoned or anything. You also did not want anything to happen to Kai.

"Kai, it's me. I'll take off your blindfold now." You said.

"No please, you can't, my eyes.... please don't, Y/N-san." He was barely able to say.

"Why not?"

"Please." He said again. "It's bad enough that I am still alive."

"Don't force yourself to talk, just rest." You said quietly. The truth is that you had no idea what to say to him. It made you sad that he was clearly going through something terrible but he had not felt comfortable enough to ask you for help and had instead resorted to doing something as extreme as hurting himself to quell his pain.

His breathing was no longer as shallow as it was when you brought him here, but it was still a struggle for him it seemed. He did not say anything further for a while and you searched for the words with which you could comfort him or get him to open up to you, but you were afraid that it would only make him close up. It was not like you had no idea what he was going through, you had also fought against suicidal thoughts after Ace died. You understood that sometimes things could be hard.

"Kai, if something was bothering you so much that you... I want you to know that you can always talk to me, about anything, no matter what it is. I promise, I'll listen, so please..." You could feel that you were crying now. "Please, Kai, don't hurt yourself, okay?"

The boy faced up at the ceiling. "Y/N-san, why are you so kind to me? Why do you cry for me, and worry so much for a child whose origins you do not know?"

"I don't know, maybe you remind me a little of myself. Lost in the sea with no family to speak of. When I was your age, I was alone, working in bars to make money even though I was a child. I had to grow up too fast in this world. I did not have anyone who would help me without any strings attached. All I had was a book that I held dear to me, sleeping in the dirty places, and brushing off advances from horrible perverts, that was the only thing I held on to, the meaning of freedom as I searched for a place to belong, for a true family." You said. "My mother and Nana always wanted that for me, so even though I was alone, I would sing Nana's song and feel a little bit of comfort in it."

You could tell he was listening, trying to decipher the answer that you were giving to him.

"I fell in love twice in my life. Both of them showed me parts of myself that I had never thought to discover, both of them somehow gave me the family that I desired for so long. Even though I lost one of them, I will never forget him because when I was with him, I was free from the loneliness and aching solitude that had followed me my entire life. He gave me a gift that no one could ever have done." You paused. "Sabo too, gave me a home to belong to and with him, I was able to create my own family... which includes you. Kai, if things had happened differently, you and I never would have crossed paths, but for some reason, I found you drowning at the bottom of the ocean, and I saved you. I suppose that I have come to care for you very much, and when I look at you, I can't help but think of you as a little brother."

The boy turned his face away from you, and even though he hid his face from you, you could tell he was crying. "You saved my life and yet I just tried to throw it away, I'm sorry.... I just didn't want you to hate me." He cried. "I've seen the real me lurking in my mind and I'm afraid of letting him out... I don't want to end up hurting you or anyone else that I care about. It hurts and I can't stand it... I'm sorry!"

"Is this the warning you were talking about?" You asked. "What does it mean, tell me, Kai, what is it that you are so afraid of?"

"3759. Myself." He muttered.

"I don't understand, what do-"

"Y/N-san, I'm sorry but, I feel a little weak. Is it okay, if I sleep for a little while?"

You sat there with him, afraid of leaving him by himself and you too fell asleep in that space. When Sabo walked into the room, you were asleep, but Kai was not. Instead, he was busy tugging on his restraints as though looking for a way out.

"They put those on for a reason." Sabo said quietly.

Kai looked down. "Sorry, it's just confinement seems to bring back nightmares from my past." He responded.

"Your past, huh? Is that why you did something so stupid?" Sabo asked.

Kai bit his lip. "I don't expect you to understand, I don't fully understand it much myself, but this is something that I had to do. You will come to know why eventually."

Sabo walked up to the boy and removed the blindfold from his eyes. He then held up the patch containing the poison tablet and showed it to him. "Open your eyes and look at this."

"I can't." Kai muttered. "I must keep my eyes closed at all costs. I cannot look at your face."

"Are you running away?" 

"Perhaps that is the only choice I seem to have, so what do I do?"

Sabo sighed. "I'm holding up the poison tablet that you had. According to the doctor, this was an implant in your other arm, which means that you took the other pill from the bandaged arm. How did you get such dangerous chemicals in your body? Answer me."

Kai squeezed his eyes shut. "I don't know."

"You're lying."

"Sense, in the past couple of days, I have gone through a rollercoaster of emotions, I wanted to find out who I really was in the scary past that I kept seeing, but I pushed myself too hard, and I saw too much of the terrors that plague my past. Soon, it will catch up to me and everyone here will be in danger, I hope you understand that. I cannot let that happen, not to you, and not to Y/N-san. Even if it costs me my life." The boy said in determination.

"Idiot! Do you really think that is what we want?" Sabo almost shouted, but was barely able to keep his voice normal. "Look at her, she has been worried sick about you, crying and blaming herself for not knowing that you needed help. Your life is not just your own to do with as you please, so don't you dare hurt her feelings like this again, do you understand?"

"These restraints, they aren't just to protect me from myself, are they? Sensei, am I a prisoner here too?" Kai asked.

"Did you do something for which you feel you need to be imprisoned?"

"Not yet. But this is probably a good choice on your part." He said, turning his face away from Sabo.

"So you won't tell me anything?" Sabo asked, but Kai chose to keep his silence.

***

You stayed by Kai's side for the next few days feeding him and making sure that he wasn't going anywhere. The boy never said anything much, he just kept his eyes blindfolded and looked away from everyone. His hands were only uncuffed when he was eating. You would talk and talk to try and cheer him up, but he wouldn't respond and would just sit there looking away into the distance which was hard to tell seeing as you couldn't even see his eyes. It was not exhausting at all but you were really hoping to get results soon because you were very worried about him.

Unfortunately, you couldn't stay there forever, your daughter needed you as well and so you had to sometimes leave him alone but the nurses were always there watching him all the time.

On Friday afternoon, when you went to visit him, there was a panic at the hospital and when the doctor saw you he said, "Thank goodness. I just got off the transponder snail with Sabo-san, and he couldn't reach you at home to tell you. We have a problem, the patient escaped."

"Escaped? What... what do you mean? Kai was chained to the bed, how could he escape?" You asked.

"He was stronger than we gave him credit for. He took the chains with him too so we were worried-"

"You think he might try again?" You asked alarmed.

"We don't know." Said the doctor. "He left this note behind though."

"A suicide note?" You said grabbing the letter from the doctor, just as Sabo called his transponder snail.

"Sabo, listen to this, this note is assessed to you." You said and began to read it out loud.

_Sensei _

_I know that this may seem like _ _I'm_ _ running away without repaying your kindness, and _ _I'm_ _ sorry. You are the person that I admire and look up to the most in the world, and I wish I could stay and learn more from you. Maybe this will seem like a feeble excuse to you, but the truth is, it has become impossible for me to stay here. It is hard to reconcile who I am now with the person I used to be. I am afraid that sooner or later, I will end up causing irreparable damage to you and your family and that is the last thing I want._

_I do not have the courage to face Y/N-san at this time because even though she took such great care of me, I am leaving without saying goodbye. Please let her know that I will keep her words in my heart and I will never forget her kindness. Tell her that she does not have to worry about me anymore, I won't try to hurt myself again. Instead, I will leave this place, and return to my former home._

_Thank you for everything that you have both done for mee, and I aam sorry for all the trouble that I caused you._

_-Kai._

"What does this mean, I can't understand what he is saying at all." You lamented.

"I can't either. But we have to find him. I've deployed people to search the harbour in case he is planning to leave." Sabo paused. "If it's suicide again, maybe do you know a place of sentimental value to him?"

You paused. "I'm not sure, I can only think of one place. I'll search there for him."

"Okay, I'll search around too. Contact me if you find him." He said.

~

Kai was not a very emotional person and he had only been at Baltigo for a year, so really, the only place you could think of was at the seashore on the West where he had been shipwrecked and he almost died, the place where you first met him, saving his life. With Maya also out searching, you had no option but to take Rouge with you and run over there.

Sure enough, Kai was standing on there, on a parked boat, his back to you. He was carrying in his hands the chains that had been binding him. Was he planning to chain himself up and jump into the water?

"Kai! Come down from there! You promised you wouldn't hurt yourself again. Don't leave, just come down and talk to me. Whatever is bothering you, I'm sure that we'll make it through. I promise." You pleaded.

He didn't say anything but stood still there with his back to you.

"Listen, I know that things are hard for you and I don't know what it is you're remembering but it has to be very painful for you to be acting like this, so I'm begging you please come down." You tried again.

"Memories? Do not worry about that, I have restored them, my system has been fully rebooted." Kai said monotonously.

"What?" You asked.

He turned around to face you and you were suddenly struck by the eyes that fixated on you. Those blank, dead eyes.

"Kai, what's wrong with your eyes?"

"Kai? Oh, is that the alias that I have been using? Nothing is wrong with my eyes. This is how they have been since I was created." He said.

"You are not making any sense." You told him moving closer to the boat.

"How cowardly the human mind is! What good would it have done to run from the problem at hand? It is not as if he could escape his own mind." Kai said. "Perhaps he was trying to protect someone? In that case I should avoid reading my new memories."

It was strange, the way he was talking, and it made you slightly uneasy. You held Rouge tightly, and stood still.

"By the way, woman, who are you?" He said, and pulled the chain in his hands along with him as he jumped down from the boat to the sand.

"What do you mean?" You frowned. "Oh no, did you lose your memory again?"

Was that even possible? Had the recent trauma affected his psyche again?

"More like it is bothersome to access my human mind." He said, and his eyes glowed slightly as he looked at you. "You're not on the system, so I suppose there is no need to cause you any harm. You seem to be a mother with her child, I will suggest that you leave this place immediately and you will not get hurt."

"You're not making any sense." You said, worried now. You reached into your pocket, to get the baby transponder snail to call Sabo, and then suddenly he suddenly instead of being right in front of the boat, Kai was right behind you. You weren't quick enough to follow his movements and the chain in his hand was wrapped around your legs before you could process it, and you fell to the ground. You held onto Rouge so that she wouldn't get hurt but Kai grabbed the baby out of your arms and tightened the chains all around your body.

"What are you doing?" You shouted, unable to move with the with the chains wrapped around you. You were never fighter after all, there is no way you'd be strong enough to break them by yourself.

His eyes glowed again. "Face unknown." He said. "Accessing human memories." He closed his eyes for an instant. "I see, how interesting. So you are the Revolutionary Army's Chief of Staff's lover as well as the mother of his daughter. That is very interesting."

Those dead eyes looked at you. "This place is very dangerous to me and seeing as I've been Missing in Action for months now it would be very inconvenient for me to show up at base without any results. However, if I happen to capture the number 2 of the Revolutionary Army, I'm sure they will be satisfied." He said more to himself than to you.

"If I have you as a hostage I won't have to go looking for the high officials, I can just summon him here. Give me his number." Kai ordered. You were scared and slow to respond. "Shall I drown your baby before you agree?" He offered.

"No, please." You said. You gave him the contact, Sabo would know what to do.

"That was not so hard, now was it?" He said with no expression on his face, turning his back on you.

"Kai, who are you, really?" You asked him as he walked away.

"I am 3759, an agent of Cipher Pol Aegis 0."

"What?" You asked. "You work for the government?"

"Yes, I was here to infiltrate the ranks of the Revolutionary Army, but unfortunately, my memory drive was damaged somehow, and I briefly had to revert to using my human brain. It matters not anymore. I have blocked it now, and will not allow that consciousness to filter through with its needless sentimentality. I have a job that I must do and for that a clear mind is crucial." He said, those blank eyes looking at the child he was carrying with no emotion in them.

This person, was not Kai... it couldn't be him. There was something wrong with him, you thought. As long as he could get to the hospital, they would be able to help him, get him back to normal.

"Now be quiet, I have a call to make." He said. He began dialling the number and walking back to sit on his boat and you couldn't hear what he was saying.

It was not long when, like the wind, you heard the rush of footsteps running towards the place where the two of you were made you finally look away from the boy in front of you.

Sabo was running hurriedly in your direction, and you heaved a sigh of relief when you saw him. He frowned when he saw you in chains on the ground and saw Kai standing in the boat holding Rouge.

When he spoke, his voice was low, angry and almost unrecognisable. "I don't know what you think you are doing, but if you don't put my daughter down this instant, I will not hesitate to kill you.

Kai's eyes shifted onto him, and glowed slightly. "Sabo, Revolutionary Army Chief of Staff; Bounty: 602 million berry. Action required: Flee on sight." He paused. "Now that you are here, there is no need for hostages."

Kai took Rouge and threw her into the sea. 

"ROUGE!" You cried out in fear as the child fell into the water and did not resurface.

"W-what the hell!" Sabo said also surprised. "You...!"

"Sabo! Break my chains! Break them now! I'm gonna save her." You called out.

As though snapped out of a nightmare, Sabo blinked as he grabbed the chains with his fingers and broke them apart. Now that you were free you chose to dive into the sea.

"You're wasting your time, your daughter has weak lungs does she not? She won't even make it to the bottom, she's probably dead already." Kai said maliciously. 

You had no time to see Sabo's response as you dove into the water and you felt your body transforming in there. Quickly, you swam with the fish, imploring them to help you with your search. With your eyes, you looked around to see if you could see your daughter where Kai had thrown her.

_♤Please be okay, please be okay.♤_

You swim down there as quick as you could, watching the water but you couldn't find her by swimming at the top so you decided to dive even deeper down. In the distance, you saw her sinking. She was a long way down on her way to the bottom of the sea and you could not see any bubbles coming from her mouth. The only good thing was that she had not hit any rocks.

As you approached her, you saw a strange red thing on the back of her neck and you wondered if some creature had latched onto her. You increased your speed, moving faster than you'd ever swam before so that you could catch her under the water. You picked up the baby, but to your utter astonishment, her eyes were wide open and she was looking at you. The child smiled, and you finally got a look at the thing on her back: gills.

You were so relieved that you cried. It made sense after all, you were half mermaid. You had never really thought of your heritage as a curse or a blessing but this was the first time in your life that you were thankfult that your father was a fishman. You held her close to your chest and then you decided to come up out of the water. The gills disappeared once Rouge was out of the water and she coughed slightly.

"Rouge is fine, Sabo. She's okay!" You shouted.

Sabo and Kai were fighting and it was almost an insult to call it a fight because of how one sided it was. Kai was trying desperately to get ahead but Sabo was just standing there, and somehow the look on his face unnerved you. There was a dark aura about him and his eyes seemed darker than usual, giving him a scary air.  
As Kai ran up to him with his sword raised, trying to cut him Sabo merely countered with his hand without even batting an eyelid and he broke the sword into pieces. Kai then attempted to use _soru_ to step back, noticing that perhaps this was the worst thing that he'd ever tried to do, and trying to run away from the fight but it was futile.

Sabo caught him in less than an instant and grabbed his head with his left hand. From where you were, it looked like he was squeezing it really tightly, trying to crush.

"Stop!" You said. "We're okay, you can't kill him, look Rouge is fine!" But it didn't look like he could hear you, it looked like he was absorbed in anger and darkness and his fingers tightened as Kai struggled and tried to break free of his hold in vain. Any minute now, you were sure that Kai's skull was going to pop.

Sure something was wrong with him, but still you couldn't let that happen. There was no question that in his rage, Sabo was going to kill him and he definitely wasn't listening to anyone. You could feel the heaviness of his emotions so much that it unnerved you a little.

You had to stop him.

You were angry at Kai, but you sure as hell didn't want him to die. Still in the water, you did the only thing that you could to stop the fight. You took a deep breath and gathered the energy that the water was giving you and then prepared for the highest pitch you could muster from this distance. You let out a loud scream and nearby, you could hear glass breaking and the water rippled with the sound from your voice as you cried out.

They both heard the sound and Sabo had to drop Kai as the sonic wave hit them.

Sabo dropped onto the ground, and clutched his ears to cover them from the sound, and Kai fell to the ground as well, unconscious.


	18. Children

"How is she?" You asked Doctor Mansfield as he examined Rouge.

"Well, your daughter has always had weak lungs, so if it wasn't for her fishman heritage, she probably would be dead. However, she seems fine." He stated.

"See, she's okay." You said to Sabo who was standing leaning against the wall, looking down.

"Yeah, but none of us knew that she would sprout gills when in the sea. "That kid, really was trying to kill her." He said balling his hands into fists. "You shouldn't have stopped me-"

"What? Should I have let you kill Kai? Even though he meant harm, I just can't associate it with him. Something is wrong with him, I want to understand what that is, so we can help him."

"You are too kind, because of that you put yourself in danger. I don't think-" Sabo started.

"Sabo-san!" Tetsu said arriving at the door of the infirmary. "He is awake."

"Alright." Sabo straightened up. "Is he in the interrogation room?"

"Yes sir. Every time someone goes in there, Kai identifies them and states their bounty then he tries to attack. Dragon-san said that you should be the one to talk to him." Tetsu explained.

You wrapped up Rouge in a blanket and stood up to follow them.

"What do you think you are doing?" Sabo asked sharply.

"What else? I'm going with you to check on Kai." You said defiantly.

"No way, he tried to kill you. I'm not letting you anywhere near him."

"Sabo please. I saved his life twice now, he's my responsibility. I... I really care about that child." You pleaded. 

"Shit, when you make a face like that, how can I say no?" Sabo sighed. "Very well, you may come, but I can't let you inside, you'll have to watch from the other side of the glass with everyone else."

~

The room adjacent to the interrogation room was quiet. You sat there with Koala, Hack and Dragon-sama along with a few other people. You all watched the interrogation room through the two way mirror.

Kai sat there, heavily chained to the chair again, looking down. He looked worn out and there were cuts and bruises on his face. The door opened and Sabo came in. Kai immediately closed his eyes and looked away.

"Well, this is surprising." Sabo said sitting down in front of him. "You won't attack me? Afraid of losing again?"

"It's fine as long as I don't identify you." Kai said quietly. "Sens-"

"Let's cut to the chase. Earlier, you told Y/N that you are a member of CP0, is that true?" Sabo asked.

"Sensei..." Even through the glass, you could see Kai's trembling. His hands were shaking eyes were closed and head was bowed. It looked like he was breathing heavily. "Why... why...why?"

"Why what, say something that makes sense." Sabo frowned.

"WHY?!" Kai shouted, finally lifting his head, and with a burst of power, he broke the chains holding him. Everyone in the room with you gasped, because even though his eyes were closed, tears still fell down his cheeks as he almost chocked on his next words. "Why didn't you kill me?!"

Sabo jerked up in surprise. "What?"

"I... hurt Y/N-san... I..." Kai put his hand over his mouth. "...I... killed your daughter!....So why...why...AAAAAAGHH!" He screamed, clutching his head in this hands, sobbing uncontrollably. You stood up and ran to the door connecting the two rooms, trying to pry it open.

"It's useless." Dragon-sama said to you. "Sabo locked it specifically so no one could go inside. All we can do is watch. Even if you shout, they won't be able to hear you."

"Damn it!" You said watching through the glass.

"What did I teach you?" Sabo said quietly in contrast to Kai's extreme panic. "I told you, if you are going to regretting attacking someone, then don't strike them at all. Have you learned nothing?"

"Please, just... kill me...please..." the boy cried, his eyes still closed.

Sabo sighed. "Don't worry, Rouge is alive. That is the only reason why you are still alive right now, so stop with the self pity and answer my questions." 

"She is alive? She's okay?" Kai asked, relief washing over his face. "I didn't kill her."

"Are you going to answer me or should I make you?"

Kai took a deep breath, tore a piece of his shirt and blindfolded himself. "I'll tell you everything that you want to know, Sensei, after all, I got all my memories back. There is nothing I wish to hide anymore. I _am _an agent of Cipher Pol 0, 3759."

"I see. Why were you sent here? Have you been leaking our information to them as long as you've been here?" Sabo asked.

"No, I did lose my memories, so I had no idea who I really was." He replied. "I was in the Dwunoser Island because I was sent there with a few others to kill the leaders of the rebel army to avoid a civil war in the country, but we were too late, they already got help from the Revolutionary Army, and some of my comrades died in the battle. I decided to escape instead of attacking, so I could report to my superiors, so I hid among the civilians. However, I did not know that they would be brought here to Baltigo as refugees." He paused. "When I found that out, I decided to infiltrate instead, if I could find the location of your base, I could alert my superiors. But we had an accident on our way here and I nearly drowned thus losing my memories."

"How long have you been one of them? You don't look old enough." Sabo asked him.

"I turned fifteen a couple of months ago. I have been a part of their ranks for seven years. It is a long story, that spans my entire life. Do you want to hear it?" Kai asked.

"Well, neither of us is going anywhere."

"Okay. I was born and raised in the South Blue, at Rotorn Island." Kai said. For some reasomn, Sabo stiffened. "There were two countries on the island and one was Sagtu country but ours was the smaller one. We weren't particularly rich, but we lived in peace, at the edge of the island. I lived with my mother at the research plant where she worked, just the two of us. I don't remember much of that time, but one thing is for sure, everything was peaceful and quiet. Both of the countries on the island specialised in researching ways to store and condense information and to deliver instant remote commands to soldiers for the government. It was a relatively simple life.

"However, everything changed in the time span of one week. The research plants in the neighbouring country were blown up all of a sudden, and there was great panic in our city. In the research plant, our parents took the children and locked us at the largest academy in the city where we went to school. Of course back then, we had no idea why that happened; our parents just told us that it was a school camping event. I remember my mother told me that we would go shopping when the event was over.... I was very excited, because she was so busy that we rarely had any time to spend by ourselves. I was really looking forward to it, not knowing that that hug, was the last one I would ever get from my mother." Kai paused for a second, deep in thought before he continued.

You were wondering what on earth could have happened to him as you listened, that you barely noticed that Sabo's face was white as a sheet.

Kai continued his tale. "Anyway, the next day, the research plant on the outskirts of our city blew up as well as we only thought it was an earthquake. We all waited there in the school, from the smaller kids five to six years old to the older ones, about sixteen to seventeen. The older children looked after us, making our food and so on. Now that I think back, it is possible that they knew what was going on because they always seemed more nervous than the rest of us. However when the next earthquake came we knew that it was not an earthquake. We all ran and hid in the basement of the school. We had to keep quiet because we were all afraid as the building began to collapse.

"But what was really happening on the surface was that the entire city was being bombed. It was engulfed in flames, cannonballs flying all over and burning the city into nothing but ashes. We were 'rescued' by the members of CP9 who came to the school searching for survivours and they found us hidden underground. Master Spandam took us and when we got up we found that the whole city was on fire, there was no life for miles. Buildings were destroyed even our school building was an absolute mess and if we'd stayed on the upper floors we'd be dead. We followed the members of CP9 out and they led us to Sagtu country. Our parents and almost everyone else in the city were dead. There was a mass funeral and I couldn't even process it then. I was only eight years old after all. One day my life was normal as the son of a researcher and the next day I was an orphan whose entire city was burnt down to nothingness. We had nowhere to go but CP9 offered us a place to belong. Spandam told us what had happened." A sad looked crossed over his face as he went on talking.

"He told us that the research plants were destroyed by members of the Revolutionary Army in the Sagtu country and they came to destroy the the research plant in our country as well. They stole the chips that were being researched, and when they realised that CP9 was after them, they sought shelter among the people of the city. However, because the people of the city had seen their faces and the Revolutionary Army wanted to keep their faces hidden, they killed everyone and destroyed the city." He continued. "That was how he got us, the children of the people whose lives were lost in the tragedy that day. He told us that our parents were criminals since they gave shelter to fugitives. But he would show us mercy and he would make us part of a new program that the they were developing, to stop evil people like pirates and revolutionaries from causing another incident like this."

Kai laughed bittely. "Back then we didn't know that we were nothing more than guinea pigs for their experiments that they were working on and they used some of the chips that they managed to retrieve from the destroyed factories and they tested them on us. There were 4123 children who underwent the testing all under the age of 10. They planted the chip in our brains, something that could identify that could be used to store information to identify criminals and receive orders." He said. "Out 4000 of us only in 141 survived the process and out of those, only in 22 of us was the chip successfully installed. All of the others died." Kai's voice shook. "By then it was too late though. I was ingrained with hatred and resentment for the Revolutionary Army for taking my mother away. We were trained to kill and in three years, they sent us out into the world. When CP9 fell, we were brought into Cipher Pol Aegis 0. They still conduct the experiment even to this day to see how many of them will succeed"

"Why... why children?!" Sabo said angrily.

"Easy. They wanted to use children because it's easier for us to infiltrate small villages and islands that are not allied with the World Government. We would take the gold from already poor countries, and we would take young women there to give as slaves to the Celestial Dragons. We killed pirates, taking whatever we wanted from them. We bought weapons from well known criminals. Who would suspect a child? It was also easier for us to gain the trust of members of the Revolutionary Army, that's how I was able to infiltrate so easily." Kai told him.

What a horrible story, what a terrible world, doing that to children. You could not stand it.

"But don't worry, Sensei. Since I've been with the Revolutionary Army for a year now, I know how you guys run things and it's nothing at all compared to what we were told that you guys were like. So while I was out for revenge when I started this, I wanted to destroy all evil because it was evil that took my mother away from me in the end, I lost my humanity and became nothing more than a machine receiving orders in my head and storing the data in the chip that they gave us. But in the past year, I started fresh, and I have been able to find myself. I've learned a lot about the Revolutionary Army and if it were up to me, I'd stay here but all the commands, the programs in my head want to destroy all of you. I can't stay here. But I no longer resent you. I know that you wouldn't destroy a city just because they saw your face. I now know that CP9 fed us a terrible story about you." Kai said

"That story," said Sabo quietly. "Wasn't a complete lie."

Kai looked up him through the blindfold. "What do you mean?"

"Your resentment towards us, no me, is justified. I was there that day. It's true that we destroyed those plants. The moment you mentioned that kingdom, I knew that day would come back to haunt me." Sabo said. "I was there on that mission when we led the mission to destroy those research plants. The Revolutionary Amy wasn't as big as it is now and it was my first mission is the is the mission leader. I took a small team and we destroyed two research plants at Sagtu country. We were called in by the head of the research team from your country because the government wanted to test their newest product on children and they didn't want their work to be distorted like that. So they called us and informed us about what was going on. There I was, 14 years leading the mission party. We sneaked in there, we didn't have a lot of any problems destroying the factory in Sagtu but we knew that CP9 would catch up to us soon, so we ran from the country and came to yours. There the leader of the research facility accepted us into his home and when he had evacuated the plant, we destroyed it too. CP9 intercepted our transport system so we had to use our backup ship to get off the island."

"Unfortunately the CP9 guys thought we were still in the city so they destroyed the entire city just so we wouldn't be able to get out. By the time we found out we were already too far away and the whole city was in flames. There was nothing we could do. So I am to blame for the deaths of your mother and all of her colleagues because they gave us shelter, they were killed even though they didn't do anything wrong." Sabo said, bowing _his _head this time. "I'm sorry, it's my fault that your life has been like."

You put your hands over your mouth. To think they were connected like this. How terrible.

There was shock on Kai's face and surprise as well, but then he bit his lip and spoke. "That's all in the past Sensei. If our parents called you, I'm sure that they removed us from the city because they knew that it was risky. They kept us hidden so we wouldn't get hurt. It was just our fate."

"You really think so?"

"Yes, so it's ok you are not to blame." Kai said. "To be honest, I was really excited at the prospect of joining the Revolutionary Army, but I guess that's not happening now. Whatever information that you want on CP9, I can give it to you but I don't know how reliable I can be with this chip in my head."

Sabo looked thoughtful. "Wait a moment." He said, and got out of the interrogation room and came to the adjacent room where you were.

"Dragon-san, can I talk to you for a moment?" Sabo asked.

"Certainly." said Dragon-sama and followed him outside. After a few minutes of talking, Dragon returned to his seat next to you and Sabo went back into the interrogation room.

"Kai." Sabo said. "One of the commanders of the Revolutionary Army is quite good with machines, his name is Lindbergh. He has a few doctors with him too, so if we take you to him he can operate on you and remove that chip without hurting you."

"What?" Kai said in surprise.

"But only if you want to and then you'll be free to go wherever you want. If you want to go back to CP0, I can't let you reveal our location. I just want to help you to make that decision yourself." Sabo told him.

"I...I really wanted to join the Revolutionary Army. So, if I can get fixed and my mind becomes my own again," Kai looked down. "Do you think I can become one of you?"

"Of course you can." Sabo said. "I can't forgive CP9 and CP0 for what they did to you, so when we remove that chip we're going to storm their laboratories and destroy them. We will destroy them and rescue all of the other children that they're currently experimenting on and take them to Lindbergh for treatment as well. I promise you I will save you and I will save them."

***

Kai was in prison, confined according to his own request.

Sabo was quiet the whole way home and upon arrival, he went straight up to the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed, his back to you. You walked up to him, and sat by his side.

"Are you okay?" You asked.

He turned to look at you, and sighed, "I'll be fine. I just.... being reminded of my failures in the past and the consequences of them, is not easy. It's something that I regret, but it made me stronger, you know."

"Do you want to talk about it?" You asked again.

"After that mission, I didn't want to lead any more missions, being responsible for the loss of so many lives, was unbearable to me." Sabo said quietly. "But Dragon-san told me to bear that burden and to feel the weight of those lives, so that I never make that mistake again, so that I can be a good leader."

"I think you are." You said.

He smiled slightly. "I hope so."

"I know you feel bad, but the ones to blame are the people from the World Government, not you. Kai doesn't blame you either." You said gently.

"I know. And it pisses me off. Why does this world think it's okay to treat children with such contempt? Why must they be used as tools, a means to an end? It makes me angry." He said with a furious look on his face.

You looked down. "Hey Sabo, do you ever regret it? Trying to save this world? I mean you work so hard and give it your all, but if it is as corrupted as this, do you ever wonder if it is worth saving?"

He surveyed you for a moment. "Of course I do. And working for the Revolutionary Army, I have seen a lot of the darkness that has made me lose faith in this world." He paused. "However, when I look at the children, like Rouge, I want to create a free world for them. So that they don't have to go through what we did."

"I see. For Rouge's generation, huh?" You marveled. "Then, this means you will save Kai right?"

"Of course I will," Sabo said. "It is partly my fault that he ended up like that after all, and more importantly, I cannot forgive Cipher Pol for experimenting on children."

You stood up and went to the wall behind the door where a sword was lying. You took the water sword, Mizumaru and placed it in Sabo's hands. "Kai won't let me see him before he departs, I know at least that much about the kid. I'm afraid that he might not come back, so I suppose I need some insurance." You said. "Give this to him, tell him to bring it back to me."

Sabo looked at you curiously. "Are you sure about this? I know that you really like this sword."

"I do. But, I have faith in both of you, and that he will bring the sword back to me no matter what."

Sabo held out his hand and pulled you closer to him. "You really are too kind." he said.

***

The ship was departing early the next morning. Tetsu brought Kai down to the harbour, blindfolded but otherwise unchained. You watched the ship departing from far away after saying goodbye to Sabo.

Sabo walked up to Kai who was sitting on the deck of the ship. "Hey, is it really okay for you to leave without saying goodbye to Y/N? She is very worried about you, you know." He said.

Kai looked down. "I caused a lot of trouble for her, I don't want to be near her right now because I might hurt her again. If I did, I would never forgive myself. In this sorry state that I am in right now, I can't even apologise to her properly."

"I see." sighed Sabo. "Well, she wanted you to have this. Just so you know, she wants it back, so you better not think about keeping it. I broke your sword, so she wants you to have something to fight with at least to defend yourself."

Kai felt the sword with his hand. "Hey, isn't this the sword that you gave to her?"

"Yeah, it is. So she won't forgive you if you don't bring it back intact."

"Y/N-san." Kai said, the cloth around his eyes suddenly soaked. "I promise... I will come back and bring your precious sword back to you. I promise that when I come back, I will beg for your forgiveness and look you in the eyes in the face of my shameful behaviour. So, please, don't give up on me."

Sabo put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "She won't. She never will. All you can do is to show her your resolve yourself. I promised her that I would get you treatment, so neither of us should disappoint her, okay?"

~

For the next few days, you waited for them. The worry was a little unbearable, but you had to keep reminding yourself that you had faith in them, that they would both return to you unharmed. 

Ring, ring, ring, ring. Gotcha.

"Sabo?" You answered.

"Hey, sorry I haven't called in three days, we have been busy in the research lab with Lindburg. He had a breakthrough last night, so him and one of our doctors are currently performing the operation on Kai right now. If it is successful, then we will be able to storm the laboratories and destroy them once and for all." He said.

"How is Kai doing though?" You asked in concern.

"He has been very cooperative, even with the looming brain surgery ahead of him. He's a brave kid." Sabo said. "Listen, this is not a safe line, so I don't know when I'll be able to call you again."

"Already?" You said in disappointment. "Okay, come back soon, I miss you."

"Yeah. I love you."

"I love you too."

Gotcha.

You did not get another call in the following week, so you busied yourself with work at Mesland School and teaching Maya how to cook. She was just as worried about Kai as you were, and the two of you often worked together in silence in the kitchen watching and waiting.

Sabo and Kai returned the following week to the house and you ran out to meet them. Kai had a few bandages on his body but he seemed to be walking fine. More importantly, however, his eyes were no longer blindfolded. The boy ran up to you and knelt down at your feet. He raised the sword that he was carrying and presented it to you, his head still bowed as though could not bear to look at you at all.

"I brought it back to you, Y/N-san." He said.

"I'm glad that you came back, Kai."You said to him, holding out your hand. He remained kneeling however, and still would not look at you.

"When you said that I was like a little brother to you that day, I was honestly so happy. I really admire you and you have done so much for me. To think that I held such an important place in your life honestly made me want to cry, but I did not now which path to take because of the conflict between the orders programmed into me and my own heart. In the end I tried to run away and I ended up hurting you."Tears were beginning to flow down from his eyes.

"Listen, Kai..."

"I'm sorry, Y/N-san. For betraying your trust and not turning out to be the person I should have been. I know that words do not mean much in this life, but I really am sorry, that I tried to kill your daughter. If you never forgive me, I can understand." The boy wept, finally looking up at you. "I'm better now, I don't have a chip in my brain anymore, my eyes no longer transmit any information to it, so please, I promise that I will never do it again. Can you possibly forgive me, Y/N-san?"

You reached out your hand again and touched his head. "You idiot, I already told you that we are family. Family hurts each other all the time." You said. "Besides, that was not your fault, so I don't blame you in the slightest." You smiled, "Kai, I forgive you."

Those tear-filled eyes looked up at you as he let you lift him up. "Y/N-san!!!" He cried. You gave him a warm hug as he continued sobbing like a child. Behind him, you could see that Sabo was smiling.

"By the way, you have all your memories back now, don't you Kai?" You asked once the boy had calmed down. "Can you tell me, what is your real name?"

He wiped the tears off his eyes and looked at you. "That's true. Before I was 3759, I had another name, one that my mother gave to me. That was the name of an innocent child who was oblivious to the cruelty of this world, whereas 3759 was nothing more than a government assassin. As far as I'm concerned, both of those people are dead now." Kai said. "I believe that my new life started the moment that you rescued me, Y/N-san. Therefore, I have only one name: Kai."

"Kai." You smiled.

"It is a precious name to me because you gave it to me, Y/N-san." He smiled.

Nothing made you happier than seeing him back to his old self again. You could feel all your worries slowly disappearing as you looked at him. "You kept your promise. Thank you." You said to Sabo.

"Phew. The way that you two were going, I was starting to think I was invisible." Sabo said, eyebrows raised.

"Don't beat yourself up over it, Sensei. I'm all that is on her mind right now." Kai mumbled. Normally, Sabo would have been a little mad at him for making such a comment, but today, it seemed that he too was glad that things were back to normal. He just laughed it off.

"I'm gonna prepare a big meal for you tonight, Kai. You can stay the night, and go back to school tomorrow." You said happily.

"Really?" He asked.

"Actually," Sabo interrupted. "I was thinking, with your memory back now, there is no need for you to train with the others at school, your level is a bit higher."

"What do you mean?" Kai asked.

"Well, I think that it would benefit you more to start training exclusively with me." He told him. "To that end, if Y/N is okay with it of course, I was thinking that maybe you should move in with us, we have an empty room."

Your eyes widened in surprise. You had not thought or expected Sabo to make this kind of suggestion. It was true that the house felt a bit lonely without Nana here and you would be glad for some company when Sabo was away.

"Yes, please come stay with us Kai!" You said in delight.

"I... I don't know what to say. Are you guys sure? I mean... I..." The boy stuttered.

"Yup." You said excitedly.

"Yeah, as long as you promise to stop making eyes at my girlfriend you can stay as long as you want." Sabo told him.

Kai's face broke into a genuine smile. "I'll accept your offer. I would love to stay with you guys." He paused. "Although, I can't make any promises regarding the other thing Sensei."

This time he earned himself a smack on the head.


	19. Unforgettable

♤_You could tell that something had changed when Teach came into Issaquah Lounge over a year ago with three companions that you had never seen before. There was a tall weirdo who tap danced into the bar carrying a red cane, a purple haired guy with a broad chest and shoulders, whose lower half was thin in comparison and a tall man in a dark cloak wearing strange glasses and carrying a long rifle on his shoulder._

_"Oh! Y/N! Good, _ _you're_ _ here. I was worried that maybe you wouldn't be working tonight." Teach said sitting down at the bar along with one of his men._

_"Good evening, Teach-san." You bowed politely. "What shall _ _I_ _ get you? And what will your companion have?"_

_"Just give me the usual."_

_ _"I'll_ _ _ _ take a tankard of sake please." _ _ _The purple haired guy laughed. "Wi-hahaha! So this is the girl you like Captain Teach! I can see why!"_

_You froze slightly but thought that you must have surely misheard him calling Teach captain._

_"_ _Don't_ _ make her uncomfortable Burgess, I told you, we _ _ain't_ _ got that kind of relationship. Not yet anyway!" Teach said. "_ _She's_ _ Commander Ace's girl."_

_You did not comment on their conversation and you set the rum in front of him and he thanked you. _

_"Teach-san, I _ _don't_ _ see any other members of the second division with you. Are these guys new?" You asked slowly._

_"Oh _ _it's_ _ nothing like that." He said. "I left the Whitebeard Pirates."_

_"What?" You asked in shock. True, the air about him was different...a little colder _ _than_ _ usual but this was unexpected. _ _ _As_ _ _ _ far as you knew, that crew was pretty close knit. _ _ _"Why?" _

_"Yeah. Zehahaha. _ _Let's_ _ just say that _ _Thatch_ _ and I had a little disagreement and I finally decided to leave." Teach said taking a drink. "It happened pretty recently so _ _I'm_ _ sure _ _you'll_ _ hear about it sooner or later."_

_"Ha! Disagreement! _ _That's_ _ funny." Burgess laughed. _

_Somehow the entire situation sent chills down your spine. You _ _didn't_ _ like it. A part of you wanted to use your powers to read his mind, but a sixth sense made you feel like it was a dangerous thing to do._

_"I'm a free pirate now. So what do you say? How about you come ride on my ship with me as my woman? I took a detour just to _ _ask_ _ you that." Teach said moving closer to you._

_You stepped back, suddenly cautious. "_ _I'm_ _ pretty sure that you already know that _ _I'm_ _ dating someone. And I already told you no a million times before."_

_"Wi-hahaha! Captain you just got dumped!" Burgess laughed._

_"Bastard, Burgess get lost." Teach snapped._

_Burgess, a wide smile still on his face, stood up. "Oh, I see _ _you're_ _ upset! _ _I'll_ _ go hang out with Laffitte then." He walked away laughing. _

_"Y/N, _ _don't_ _ be so hasty to make up your mind like that. I have big plans _ _for_ _ my future, _ _I'm_ _ gonna change this era, and be the most famous pirate in the world." Teach said. "I _ _won't_ _ have a shortage of money or women either, _ _you'll_ _ surely regret it"_

_"_ _No_ _ thank you. _ _I'm_ _ happy as I am." You said through gritted teeth._

_"With Ace? That guy leaves you to work in a place like this with all these rowdy pirates. If you were with me, _ _I'd_ _-"_

_"_ _I'm_ _ not interested." You cut him off._

_His eyes narrowed. Before you could react, he grabbed your arm. "Don't be so stubborn, woman." He said._

_"Teach-san, please remember that this island and I, are protected by the Whitebeard Pirates." You said quietly. "_ _I_ _ bet you know better than anyone how they treat those who defy them."_

_Teach blinked, and then laughed before letting you _ _go_ _. "Very well, I think _ _I've_ _ caused enough trouble with those guys for a while. I hope you _ _don't_ _ regret your decision later, Y/N." He downed his drink and stood up. "Hey boys, I got my answer... we're leaving."_

_His companions stood up too, and the four of them left the bar. You breathed a sigh of relief that you _ _hadn't_ _ known that you were holding._

_~_

_Ace came to Issaquah Island a few days later to see you._

_"What? Teach was here? He actually dared to come to this place?" Ace was fuming. "Did he hurt you? Are you okay?"_

_"_ _I'm_ _ fine. But he _ _said_ _ he left _ _the_ _ Whitebeard Pirates! _ _What's_ _ going on? Did something happen?" You asked._

_Ace sat down. "The truth is, two weeks ago, he betrayed us. He killed Thatch and jumped ship before anyone found out."_

_"Thatch-san..." You stared at him in disbelief. "He is dead?"_

_Ace hit his fist against the wall. "_ _That's_ _ right. He did the worst thing possible and then ran away. Damn it! _ _I'm_ _ going make him pay for doing that."_

_You trembled slightly. To think that Thatch was dead! He was so kindhearted and he had been helpful in assisting you and Ace to get together. Such a person had been killed cruelly by someone that he considered to be a comrade. It scared you._

_"What are you _ _going_ _ to do, Ace?" You asked._

_"I will hunt him down and collect the price for Thatch's life, I _ _won't_ _ stop until _ _it's_ _ done." Ace said determinedly._

_"Do...do you have to?" You asked biting your nails. "I mean _ _you're_ _ here alone."_

_"Are you saying I should just let him go after he did something like that? No way in hell!" He snapped. "He was my subordinate! _ _I'm_ _ the one responsible for carrying out what needs to be done. _ _I'll_ _ do it alone if I have to!"_

_"Okay, okay. _ _I'm_ _ just worried that something bad might happen if _ _you're_ _ by yourself. I mean Teach had some unsavoury looking fellows with him." You told him. "_ _Wouldn't_ _ it be better if your captain sent some of the second division members with you?"_

_He looked away. "_ _That's_ _ not gonna happen. _ _I'll_ _ be fine on my own. You _ _needn't_ _ worry." He seemed to have calmed down a bit, so you sat down next to him. Ace took your hand. "Sorry, I yelled at you, _ _I'm_ _ just a little upset."_

_"_ _It's_ _ okay."_

_"I actually came here with some good news for you. The person I hired to search for your grandmother contacted me, he found her." Ace told you._

_"What?" You asked sharply. "Ace, are you serious?"_

_"Yup. He will call later so you can talk to her."_

_"Ace! You found Nana!" You said tears in your eyes as you hugged him. "_ _Thank_ _ you!"_

_"Hey... I just _ _don't_ _ want you to be lonely, you missed her a lot didn't you? I thought about bringing her here, but now maybe it would be better for you to go to her. I _ _don't_ _ like the thought that Teach can just come and go here as he pleases." Ace said._

_You looked up. "You want me to leave Issaquah Island?"_

_"Just think about it, okay?" _

_You sighed. You had lived and worked here for years, and you were quite fond of the place. Besides, you were sure that you made things pretty clear _ _to_ _ Teach and he would not come back here. You supposed it _ _wouldn't_ _ hurt to think about it a little._

***

"What? Marco-san and the other commanders fought against Teach? What happened?" You asked alarmed. The front page article on the World Economic Journal was shocking to you.

Sabo, who had been reading the newspaper, sighed. "The signs that something was brewing started showing a little while back, I've been following the story, but it seems like the Whitebeard Pirates were defeated."

"Oh no!" You said frantically. "Were they captured? Or were they..."

"It seems they disappeared. They are calling it the Payback War. I mean, I understand why they went after Blackbeard though. He's been busy taking over Whitebeard's territories on top of everything that happened a year ago. I also... well..." His implication was clear.

"It's hard to believe that bastard is the same Teach that I knew." You clenched your fists. "The Whitebeard Pirates were different from the others who came to Issaquah Lounge. I mean they drank a lot and got handsy too sometimes, but they always got along so well. Like a real family."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. I remember I once gave Thatch-san a mixed beer of my own recipe, and he liked it so much that he asked me to make an extra gourd for Whitebeard himself. I was so nervous." You shook your head. "But when Ace came to visit later, he excitedly told me that the old man wanted more of it...even though Marco-san constantly complained that it was bad for his health. Like children bickering about their father."

"It seems you were close to them. I'm sorry." Sabo said putting an arm around your shoulder.

"Back then, I was alone, you know. Ace said that he'd let me share his family until I found my own." You smiled slightly. "But even I though I have found my own, it doesn't mean that those guys are nothing to me now." You leaned closer to him. "That's why I can't forgive everything that Teach did. Betraying his own family like that is terrible."

"Well, it's actually far worse than that. Because of the culmination of everything he's done, and the fact that he proved that his strength now is greater than that of the remaining Whitebeard Pirates, Blackbeard has taken Whitebeard's place as one of the Four Emperors." Sabo told you.

How awful! How could something like that happen? Everything seemed to go back to him, as if Teach had been planning this for years! But then again, what? There was nothing you could do, even with this kind of information. You could only hope that Marco and the other commanders were okay.

"It really is a cruel world that we live in." You said looking down. "I suppose Rouge and I should be thankful for what we have. That includes our lives which we wouldn't have if it wasn't for you."

"You're right, this world really does need to change." He replied. "And that is exactly why we're here. To revolutionise it, so that people's worth is no longer decided by their lineage."

You smiled. "I look forward to it. Living in the world that you want to create."

***  
You followed the news searching for any clues on what could have happened to the Whitebeard Pirates, but their whereabouts were still unknown. There weren't any reports of death, so that was a good thing.

Meanwhile, Baltigo continued to start emptying slowly as more soldiers were deployed all over the world and some of the higher ranking officers started moving to Kammabaka Kingdom in Momoiro Island. Seeing as Sabo was the Chief of Staff, it meant that your family would probably be the last to move.

That year's Christmas was a special one to you. It was your last Christmas in Baltigo as well as your last Christmas with Robin. Because a lot of things had happened this year, you wanted it to be a special event that all of you would remember forever. You wanted to host the greatest family dinner ever and you and the girls went shopping for food and presents as well, using Kai as your pack mule carrying everything that you were buying. Of course, the boy took it all in stride, claiming that this was a good way for him to earn your heart for himself.

Sabo brought home a huge tree from who-knows-where to use as the Christmas tree, which was too big to put inside the house and as a result, the entire dinner took place outside in the moonlight. Baltigo's weather was fairly constant during the year and only slightly stormierthan usual on that day. But you were able hold an outdoors dinner party because Dragon-sama was there with you all.

The table was set for eight, and you and Maya laboured all day in the kitchen while everyone else was busy with the decorations and other things that needed taking care of. Finally all the dishes were set on the table as the guests started arriving, and the atmosphere turned to that of warmth and full of conversation.

The dark green of the tree, the sparkling colourful lights of the decorations, the pale moonlight and the rocky whiteness of Baltigo seemed somehow surreal that night. It was a beautiful colour filled with all kinds of scents from the food on the table.

"Y/N-chan! Everything smells amazing!" Koala said giving you a big hug with Robin smiling behind her.

"Thanks for coming guys." You smiled.

"Thank you for inviting me, Miss Y/N." Dragon-sama says politely handing you a bottle of wine.

"Oh, you didn't have to. I'm glad that you were able to make it sir." You bowed.

Rouge was running around trying to touch the pretty Christmas lights, and Sabo picked her up and put her on his lap. He was positively drooling at all the food on the table and even though you had made so much food, you wondered if it would be enough for everyone. After all, he ate enough for ten people with Kai not being too far behind him.

After giving giving thanks, everyone started digging into the food. The table was set as a buffet style with various meat and vegetable dishes scattered all over the table from cheesy sweet potato gratin, to the crispy brown roast chickens stuffed with various delicacies, roast beef tenderloin which was still sizzling hot with herby sauce that you had learned to make from Sanji, there was lasagna on the table, barbeque pork ribs, homemade egg rolls, rice, ramen, and all kinds of salads.

"Man, you ladies really outdid yourselves today. This is amazing!" Kai said to Maya who was sitting to his right, while you were on his left side.

Next to you, Sabo could barely breathe from stuffing so much food in his mouth at once while trying to hold a conversation with Dragon-sama who was sitting across from him.

"I looked into the weapon deal like you told me, and I think that I have a strong lead." He said swallowing right before picking up a whole chicken and biting into it.

"Is that so? Because it is worrisome how much wars between previously peaceful nations are currently on the rise." Dragon-sama said taking a drink.

"Yeah, it feels like someone is intentionally pitting them against each other for their own benefit." Sabo said, his mouth full.

Amazingly, Rouge was eating from the same plate as him and still managing to actually snatch up some food before he wiped the plate clean. You wondered if your daughter would also one day end up eating like she was fighting for her food just like both her fathers.

"Do you have to talk about work today of all days?" You said handing Sabo a bottle of water as he nearly chocked from both eating and talking at the same time.

"Well, I think we should be grateful that Dragon-san came at all." Robin smiled. "Somehow he doesn't strike me as someone who goes to a lot of parties."

Dragon-sama seems to think for a moment with a serious look in his eyes. "Does it seem that way?" He asked.

You couldn't help but laugh. He did seem a bit out of place.

"Honestly, Y/N worked hard to make this a fun party." Koala said pulling on Sabo's cheek (Surprisingly he continued stuffing his face even still). "Don't ruin it by talking about work!"

"Zave be..." Sabo said to you, but you just smiled, seeing everyone's interactions like this.

You brought out the cake for desert, and cut it for everyone.

"What do you say, Y/N-san? How about we cross arms and feed each other pieces of cake?" Kai proposed. A plate came flying at him from your right and he narrowly dodged it, but Maya managed to smack him on the head.

You smiled again. "I'll take that to mean that you wanna feed me the cake yourself?" You said to Sabo.

"Of course. I can't let that kid steal your attention even for a second." Sabo said holding out the piece of cake for you.

The rest of the evening passed like a complete blur perhaps because you were drunk and you and Koala started singing drunken Christmas carols and dancing in front of everyone. Maya and Kai disappeared into the house to do the dishes and Dragon-sama also vanished after you and Koala asked him to come and do karaoke to 'Bone to be wild' with you.

"Look Y/N-chan! There's no angel on the Christmas tree..." Koala slurred sadly her arm around you. "That's so sad!"

"Don't worry, Koala-chan! We have a real life angel with us!" You said. "Robin-san, I saw you practising before. Please fly like an angel in the sky for us!!!" You called out.

Robin looked thoughtful. "I don't know, I've had a few glasses of wine. I could fall and bash my head against a rock." She said.

"Please Robin-san!!!" You and Koala shouted.

"I don't think they are gonna let up." Sabo told her.

"Very well. But only for a little while." Robin chuckled. "Cien Fleur: Wing!"

Numerous hands sprouted on her back forming the shapes of wings, and she ascended into the sky and flew above you.

"Oh, she's so beautiful! She's gonna make me faint." You said happily watching as she came down.

Sabo caught you. "Are you sure you're not in love with her?"

"Oh I totally am. Robin-san, I love you, let's get married!" You shouted.

"Okay, I think you've had enough to drink." Sabo said.

"So has Koala." Robin said holding Koala up. "I'll take her and Maya home with me."

"Okay, that's for the best." Sabo said.

"Thanks for the dinner! It was a lot of fun." Koala waved as she, Robin and Maya left.

"Bye!" You shouted. "Hey...Sabo...Sa-chan...hey..."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Piggy back ride! I want one!" You said jumping up and down.

"Whoa, she's totally out of it." Kai said looking at you.

"Yeah. Do me a favour and put Rouge to sleep, okay...and lock up the house. I'm taking her upstairs." Sabo told him.

"Okay. Goodnight." Kai replied.

"Goodnight." You mumbled as Sabo fulfilled your wish for a piggyback ride.

He put you down gently on the bed and you pulled him down with you, and kissed him forcefully.

"No way." He said breaking the kiss.

"Why not?!" You pouted.

"Because you're crazy drunk, and I don't want you throwing up on me." He laughed. "Also you're gonna feel like crap in the morning, so you better get some sleep."

"You're so stingy." You plopped down on the bed. You lay face up and smiled. "Today was a perfect day, the best Christmas of my life. I won't forget it."

"It really was unforgettable." Sabo smiled.

***

Sabo was busy with work soon after the new year and throughout all of January, barely home, going around different countries with Hack and Koala searching for evidence on smuggled weapons.

"Are you still working on trying to find out who is supplying weapons to countries so that they start wars with each other? Any leads?" You asked him late in February.

He looked up from the papers what he had been wrecking his brain to make sense of. "Just that he's called 'Joker' and his main base is in the New World, however...." 

"What is it?" You asked.

"No matter how I look at it, even in my old notes, I made the connection that the countries who obtained the weapons had recently sent people or had their army leaders visited Dressrossa prior to the start of the war." He said. "It's puzzling."

"Why?"

"If I made that connection, wouldn't it make sense to send someone to investigate Dressrossa? Yet I don't remember ever doing that. This is a top priority order from Dragon-san, so it's strange that I never followed up on it." Sabo frowned.

"Well, send someone now." You told him.

"Yeah I will." He said. "But before that there's something that I must tell you." He hesitated.

"Huh? What?"

"I wasn't sure if I should tell you this, but we received Intel that bombs has been planted in the palace of a peaceful country in the North Blue to lure them into war." He said. "It is the Tombe kingdom."

You gasped. "My brother's country?"

"Yeah, look, I know you have a bad relationship with him, but I mean it's still your home-"

"Please!" You said desperately. "Please Sabo, save my brother's life. If they bomb the palace...I don't want him to die!"

Sabo blinked and stared at you for a moment. "I didn't expect you to feel so strongly about it. But I was always gonna do my best to save them, so don't worry. It's just that the World Government raised my bounty after the incident with Cipher Pol, so it's getting harder for me to do stealth missions."

"Tell me what happened?" You asked.

"Apparently, there's a bomb in the palace, and someone is threatening King Kairo to use their weapons to start a war with a neighbouring country. He has a two week deadline. But the Tombe kingdom has been largely peaceful, I'm sure that he is looking for a way to solve the matter."

"Can anything be done?" You asked.

"Well, the bombs from Joker can't be disarmed by just anyone, you need special key codes. Luckily, we've dealt with a few of them before, so we can do it." Sabo said. "However, it's nearly impossible to get into the palace nowadays, under the pretext of construction, King Kairo has the palace on lock down and strict searches need to be done to enter."

"In other words, if you guys rush in and are spotted, Joker and his people will no doubt detonate the bomb and blame another country." You said. "He must have someone on the inside, so it's near impossible for you to get in from outside yeah?"

"Basically." Sabo sighed. "But I'll find a way."

A thought occurred to you. "Say, Sabo. What if there was a secret passageway that could only be opened from inside the palace that leads straight to the sea? If you waited underwater and someone opened for you from the inside-"

"Hold up. What are you saying?"

"My brother couldn't stand me transforming in water in front of people and shaming the family, so he had a secret passage built from my room that leads directly to an abandoned shore by the sea." You said. "If I'm inside I can open for you and-"

"No way! You want to go back to your brother after the way he treated you? And even worse, you want to stay in a palace that is a ticking time bomb? Literally? There's no way I can let you do that!" Sabo refused.

"Look, he was a terrible brother, but he's a good king. I can't let him die!"

"That's beside the point." Sabo argued. "I'll find another way, I promise."

"There's no time!" You said. "He's my older brother, Sabo."

"Y/N-"

"I have to save my brother. I can't let him die. If I don't do anything and something bad happens to him...I'll have to live with the pain and regret." You said. "I know that you understand what I'm talking about! You of all people should understand!"

It may have been taking a cheap shot, but it worked. There was no way he could say no to you after that. Not him.

"Fine. But I'll go with you every step of the way, and I will protect you."

"Deal."

***

You undertook the journey to the North Blue in one of the Revolutionary Army's submarines. This was really your first time in a submarine. You traveled with Sabo, Hack, Tetsu and a few other soldiers. You couldn't leave words behind because you didn't know how many days it was going to take. Sabo didn't say much for the rest of the journey and you knew that he was still not fully sold on letting you come on such a dangerous mission but he was going to respect your wishes and you were really grateful to him for doing that.

The journey was long and it took four days before you all arrived underneath the Tombe Kingdom.

They stopped the submarine at the far side of the island, a few miles from the entrance into the country. You took Rouge in your arms and carried a small bag with you which had a few of your clothes, Rouge's clothes, and the transponder snail. You wore the necklace which contained you royal crest which was actually one of the very few things you had remaining from when you lived here. The only reason why you didn't lose it was because you were wearing it on your neck when you dived into the water and swam away from the kingdom years ago, so you still had it. You still had the proof that you were royalty. When the submarine emerged; you and Rouge got out and Sabo walked the remaining distance beside you.

"If I don't get a call from you every two, hours I'm going to storm into that Palace. Do you understand?" He said as you approached the gate.

"Yes I do, don't worry. Nothing is going to happen." You told him.

"If your brother hurts you or does anything.... I want you to let me know."

"He won't, I promise." You said.

Y/N, be careful. Please." He said with a serious look on his face.

"I will." You said. "Just go under the water and wait at the place where I showed you earlier and I'll let you in."

"Fine. But if anything happens at all-"

"Sabo!" You tried to practice but he pulled you in closer to him. You were holding Rouge, so the three of you were in a tight hug.

"I love you." He said. "Stay safe."

"I will, I promise." You smiled and turned around walking towards the entrance to the kingom. You could feel his eyes on you as you walked away from him, you knew he was worried.

In truth you were also kind of nervous, you hadn't been to this place in years. You wondered how it had changed. Although, you supposed you wouldn't get to see the rest of the country for a while because once the soldiers saw your royal crest they would take you to the palace on suspicion of impersonating royalty or something.

There were a few other people in the queue to enter the kingdom and you waited in line as the Gate Keeper guards checked everyone thoroughly. Then it was your turn.

"Who are you? State your business." A guard said.

"I would like an audience withe the king. My name is Y/N, princess of the Tombe kingdom the only daughter of the previous King. I have returned home."

One of the older Gate keepers snorted. "Huh! I haven't heard one of those in a while!" He said. "Back when the princess first went missing we had all sorts of people coming over and claiming to be her."

"Is that so?" You asked carefully.

"Thats right, so scram lady before I hand you over to the police." The guard said.

"I wonder," You said. "Did any of the people who claimed to be me have the royal family crest?" You asked showing it to them.

The Gate Keepers all marveled when they saw the crest in your hands.

"You! Where did you get that?" The guard asked sharply as he and his companions raised their spears.

You put up your hands. "If you take this if you take me and this Crest to my brother, His Highness Kairo-sama, he will tell you that this really is indeed his sister."

The guard detained you in the station and called over his superior.

"What do we do, sir?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" The superior said. "First off any leads on the missing princess are to sent directly to the King. And second, she has a Royal Crest, we have to take her to the palace immediately."

"Thank goodness." You said.

"If you're an impostor, you are going to be executed, but if you really are the princess...." He paused. "Prepare a carriage for her and send three guards with her."

"Yes sir." The guard answered.

A closed carriage was provided for you, and since the royal city is close to the entry to the kingdom, the journey to the palace was short. The guards made you sit in the detention room in the palace when you arrived, while the they explained the situation to the King's attendants. You also showed them your crest, and then they left you there and you had to wait for what felt almost like an hour in the detention room before someone came and led you to the throne room.

He opened the door and then stepped outside.

You walked into the throne room and saw your brother standing in front of the throne. There were also five guards in the room standing still like statues. Kairo wore blue silk robes, a silver crown on his head and multiple jewelry all over his coat. His face had aged, but he had not changed much at all.

You held Rouge tightly to your chest as you approached him, eyes down. You were dressed only modestly but next to him you might as well have been a pauper. The difference was glaring.

"It...it really is you....Y/N." He said. There was surprise in his emotions but it was overwhelmed by disappointment.

You fell down on your knees before him and bowed your head. You didn't know if you were crying because it was so long since you had seen him or because you had to bow to the person who had caused you so much grief.

"You cursed me and this country and ran from it. What in the world are you doing back here?" He asked.

You clutched Rouge. "I have nowhere else to go."

What would he do? Would he throw you out because you personally offended him in the past or would he accept you back out of his obligation to treat members of the royal family with respect?

"My pitiful little sister." He said coolly. "Welcome home."

So, even he felt pity.

"I..." You started.

"No need to speak. I think I can tell what happened." He said. "You were deceived by a man... and when he found out that you aren't human, he left you to raise that child by yourself. I warned you."

_♤It's nothing like that.♤_

"Brother-sama, I am tired. I had a long journey. Please allow me to eat and rest here with my daughter." You said, your face still looking down.

"Raise your head. Do not grovel. You may be inferior to me but you are still a princess and my sister." Kairo said. You looked up at him. His expression was unreadable, but you could detect sadness in his emotions. He was probably going through a lot with the threat of war looming over the country. "Do not worry. You will be safe here."

_♤Liar♤_

_"_Thank you for the kind welcome." You bowed.

He hadn't changed at all. Somehow, it was a little disappointing.


	20. A Brother

The palace had changed. The ones eerie looking place had transformed into a homely atmosphere seemingly free from any threats from outside. It looked like a place that even you would have no desire to run from.

Maids surrounded you as they led you to the room that the king had them prepare for you. You followed them around the palace, it was busy as always. There was the soft clattering of people's heels on the floor, soldiers following behind you at a steady pace, and some standing still beside the walls guarding the main palace where the King's family lived everything seemed peaceful and normal in here.

As Sabo had predicted, it seemed that the Kairo was keeping the fact that they were currently under a big threat as a secret from the kingdom as well as certain members of the royal family. You couldn't decide if this was a good thing or a bad decision on his part, but you had no doubt that he had the people's best interests at heart. If the enemies saw a sudden increase in panic or people fleed from the palace, that would probably make them more inclined to release the bombs and blow it up. Therefore, maybe it was better that they didn't know anything.

You had expected the maids to take you to the West Palace, the place where you grew up, where you lived alone with your mother. That place was built by the previous King for his sick wife that he loved so much. It was closer to the sea than the rest of the palace, and as a result, your brother created a passageway that you could easily use to slip from the building to the sea using a secret door without passing through the rest of the palace and disturbing anyone else. So anyway, you walked down those corridors as they led you to a different place, a place reserved for guests of the royal family.

It was certainly a room fit for a princess, it looked amazing, and it smelled like expensive perfume. The bedding and linen looked like something people would kill to have as their clothes. no, like a forest inside the house and the scent of it was quite rather beautiful.

You put Rouge down and looked around. Having never cared for such luxuries in your life, you had never really appreciated the beauty of this place.

"I thought I would be staying in the West palace." You said to the maid escorting you.

"His Majesty the King requested that we put you up here, Your Highness." She said not looking at you, but at the ground.

Part of you wanted to tell her to lay off with the respect and just call you by your name. However, you held that thought, after all, it wasn't like you would stay a long time in this kingdom. You were only passing by in a place that used to be home, but not really.

~

You put Rouge to sleep and walked out of the room. You remembered the structure of the palace as you made your way to the West Palace. A guard followed you closely and you wondered how you would ditch him so you could go by yourself. You walked towards your old living quarters when a pleasant voice stopped you.

"Leaving us already, Your Highness?" The woman said, and you turned to see the queen, your brother's wife standing there with her two maids beside her. Instinctively, you bowed down.

"Greetings, Your Grace." You said.

"Please stand. Princess Y/N." She replied. "I came to greet you in your room, but I knew that I would find you here when you weren't in the guest room."

This was strange to you, you and your brother's wife had never been close but you had never been enemies either. Her name was Natsume, the daughter of a business tycoon here in the North Blue. She was just someone that the previous key had wanted Kairo to marry in order to protect the financial balance between the two countries as they traded with each other.

At the time that you left home, they had one child. You weren't particularly close to her but you weren't hostile towards each other either.

"The West Palace has not been inhabited in years, it is unsafe for you to wander around here when your face is still new in the palace." She said.

"No one lives here?" You asked.

"The king had it closed off after you left. I mean, everyone believe that you went missing and he was sad that his sister was gone, and he didn't want to anyone else to stay there. After all, that is the area of the palace that you lived in with your mother." She said.

That's not the truth.

"Kairo-sama already told me everything, which isn't much, but I am glad that you came home. He was very worried for you." Natsume said.

"I'm sorry, I was just thinking about the bathrooms there. There is a big one that my mother used to bathe me in, and I was just kinda wondering if I could do that with Ro- my daughter." You told her.

"I understand. I will instruct several people to clean up the west palace bathroom for you to use tomorrow." The queen said.

"Thank you."

"Come along then, don't get lost here, that direction leads to the Dector wing, which is our heavily guarded military area. It is not good for you to stay here." Natsume said, taking your hand. "The truth is, I wanted to come and personally invite you to have dinner with us. It's been so long since you came home."

"I'm really glad you're here. Even though the circumstances of you returning, aren't really good, I'm sure that everything will work out."

You weren't sure if the queen knew about your heritage but she probably knew that you like your privacy and that your brother let you have your way in that matter. Briefly, you wondered if it made her angry that the palace that was built for a queen had to be closed off when princess run away from the place.

***  
"I won't be able to get into the west palace today. However, I'll probably be able to let you guys in tomorrow though." You said on the transponder snail.

"There's still four days left, so it's fine, just don't get caught." Sabo replied.

Knock knock.

"I have to go. Someone's here. Goodnight." You said quietly.

"Goodnight."

Gotcha.

"Who's there?" You called putting the baby snail away.

"His Majesty, the king would like to speak with you if you are still awake." A maid said.

You sat up sharply on the bed. "Let him in."

Kairo dismissed his guards and told them to stay outside while he spoke to you.

You kept your face bowed. "You did not have to go out of your way to find me, Brother-sama. If you summoned me, I would have come."

"Be at ease." He said sitting down. "I hear you and Natsume had dinner together. Sorry, she means we'll but she can be a little overbearing. I know you wanted to be alone."

_♤Why are you suddenly being so nice? Do you pity me?♤_

"It's not like that. I appreciate her concern. She has been very kind to me." You said. "Is there something you need, Brother-sama?"

"Tell me the truth, what happened to you? Are you in some kind of trouble?" He asked.

"Why would you assume that. Is it strange for me to visit my home?"

Kairo raised his eyebrows. "You hate this place. You hate me. Coming back here means you had to swallow your pride. No matter what happens, you're the type to try and solve everything on your own without relying on anyone else, especially not the brother who chased you out of his Kingdom."

You blinked, and looked away. It was true that you wouldn't have come here if you didn't have to, if his life wasn't in danger. But there was no way you were gonna tell him that. It was too risky, what if there really was a spy in the Kingdom and they were reporting back to their boss whoever Joker is was? You couldn't take the risk to put Kairo's family in danger, not after you'd met his wife and his two children and they were so nice to you.

"Let's just say I got left behind by someone important to me and I didn't have anywhere else to go." You lied.

"The father of that child? I told you about this already, I warned you not to trust people. Searching for love.... Someone like you, someone less than human-"

"Kairo!" You said through gritted teeth.

He sighed. "Well, whatever, it was your choice to fall in love. You rejected my offer to give you a comfortable life full of riches. If you married someone of my choosing, you could have everything that you ever wanted but you chose freedom, to search for love and look where it got you. Now you're a single mother with nowhere to run but back at the place that you wanted to leave the most. You're just like mother."

Did he have to be so blunt? He was always like this, which is why you never got along very well.

"That may be so but, you know, I really hate that about you. Just because I got hurt doesn't mean that I stopped believing in love, just because I lost someone important to me doesn't mean that I will not fall in love again. I have and it is the most beautiful thing in the world. I won't give up, like Mama did. I don't expect you to understand, but whatever...." You crossed your arms. "This is my home too. You said so yourself." You added defiantly.

"I see." You thought you saw a small smile paint his face. "It seems that you may be down, but your spirit is not lost. Sleep well, sister." He stood up and left.

He was always so hard to understand.

~

The Queen made good on her promise the next day, and the maids prepared a bath for you and Rouge in the West Palace. You had to personally order the maids to leave you alone, otherwise they would have helped you bathe. A few guards were stationed outside of the west palce with you.

Before you left the guestroom, you had called Sabo and told him to come to the area that you had shown them the previous day, so that you could open for him, and let him into the palace.

You found yourself humming in there, with Rouge in the water as you bathed her. It was reminiscent of the time you and your mother used to spend in this place.

With the guard waiting outside the entrance to the West palace, you tiptoed from the bathroom, making sure not to make any noises. You took Rouge with you, instructing her clearly to stay quiet. She was never a loud child anyway, so it was fairly easy to keep her quiet, especially in such an unknown environment.

Making your way to your old room was filled with both good and bad memories. Of songs sung in the dark, of moments with your mother Nana and of moments filled with loneliness where Red would sometimes come to cheer you up before being promptly called back into the palace by Kairo.

The place was dusty, but not filthy, it looked like the maids kept it maintained monthly. Well, you weren't here to relive your past, no, you had a mission. You quietly put Rouge down on the bed, and walked over to the closet. Behind it, was where the stairs leading to the outside, to the sea.

Your royal crest worked as the only key capable of opening the trapdoor. Crouching down, you removed your necklace and tried to use it to open the door. It was tricky not having been opened in year, but you tugged as hard at it as you could since you no longer had to worry about noise. This was because your room was soundproof since you always liked singing so much.

You walked down the stairs for a short distance before the corridor rose up instead to show ascending stairs and another locked door. You tapped on the door twice, and said "Sabo? Are you there?"

There was shuffling from the other side, "Yeah, Y/N, I'm here. Open the door."

Using your crest again, you unlocked the door. This door led up to another door which would take you to the outside, the seaside on the abandoned shore where no one ever came. You had shown the outside entrance to this place to Sabo when you first arrived yesterday before he dropped you off at the city gates.

You hugged him as soon as the door opened, and you saw him there.

"Are you okay?" He asked. "I know we just spoke, but is everything alright with your brother? You look a little tired." He observed. "Or, did you not sleep because of your mother?"

You pulled back. "Usually, Kairo would be on my case, demanding information on where I have been in order to sneer and chew me out, but he's barely left the war room." You told him. "I think he's really focused on stopping the bombs."

"I see, well, that's why we're here, I'll go now and-"

"No, your source said that the bomb was planted in the Dector wing, right? That place is heavily guarded. All I can do is this, provide you safe passage into the palace, but nothing more. If you get caught..." You told him.

He sighed, and scratched his head. "You're right. If I have to fight the national guard while trying to disarm a bomb, it would be a pain, even for me." Sabo saud. "And don't worry, I won't be going at it alone. We'll do it tonight. Stay asleep, and don't draw attention to yourself."

You nodded. "I left Rouge alone back there, so I have to go back. Good luck."

"Okay, as soon as we're done, I'll come get you. Then we'll get out of here. Although, I would like to chat with the king, as according to my sources, he had a chat with the person who planted the bombs here before he died." Sabo told you.

"You think he might know who's behind the weapons trafficking?" You wondered.

"Yeah."

"Okay, well, whatever you decide, I'll be waiting." You said before leaving him there, and heading back to Rouge.

***  
Even with just one day of meeting, a kinship formed between Rouge and her cousins and so you left her to play with them. The two boys, never having had a sister, also took to her. That evening, you went around the back, to the palace gardens which were directly across from your mother's old room in the West palace.

To your surprise, the gardens were very well kept, flowers blooming steadily all over the place, enriching the scenery with beautiful colour. Your parents met here, in this garden.

"What is it? I told you not to disturb me in the garden, is it urgent?" You heard someone speak behind you. It was the queen again. "Huh? Y/N-sama?"

Your eyes widened when you saw her wearing, not her royal robes, but dirty overalls and carrying gardening tools.

"Natsume-sama, why are you working in the gardern?" You asked.

She smiled. "It's a hobby of mine. Besides, Kairo-sama likes the flowers. Because of them, he finally looked at me."

Kairo let her work here? His queen? A proud guy like him?

"That doesn't sound like my brother." You shook your head.

"It's the truth. He lets me do it because it makes me happy." She smiled. "Besides, I'd have died of boredom when I first got here without this hobby. My husband was always busy, Reo-sama left soon after I got here to get married, and you didn't like me... so I was alone."

You frowned. "Wait, what? That's not true. I never disliked you."

"You greeted me politely at my wedding, after that, you never once came to visit me. Hell, you never wanted visitors in the West palace and you always shut yourself in there with your nursemaid. You don't have to hide it. It's fine if you didn't like me." She said picking some daisies.

Was that how it seemed to her? Like you were rude and you didn't want to associate with her. "I'm sorry. But it's not like that I swear. It wasn't because of you. That was just me."

Natsume beamed. "That's great. All this time I thought you didn't approve of me marrying your brother."

How strange. Your mother taught you to hide your body, did you unconsciously push people away to keep your secret? You wondered if you and Natsume could possibly have been friends.

"Did you also come here because you miss your mother?" She asked as the two of you left the gardern. "After you left, Kairo-sama came here all the time, and whenever he misses his mother, he comes here too."

Kairo had so much resentment for your mother, you doubted that he came here because he missed her.

"NATSUME-SAMA!" Two guards came up to the both of you. "Please let us escorting you away from the palace with the princess too. The palace is under attack"

You piped up at this, "Rouge, where's my daughter?!"

"Worry not, Your Highness. The princes and the princess are all safe. They are in the King's quarters, the most secure place of all." The guard said. "They are attacking the Dector wing."

"The Dector wing? But that's the location of the..." She looked alarmed. "I'm going inside."

That was where the bombs were, so Sabo was here already? You didn't want to get in his way, but you had to make sure Rouge was safe. You and Natsume ran through the palace, to find your children. The motion sensor snails were going haywire, and gunshots could be heard from the Dector wing.

The King's quarters were heavily guarded and only after confirming your identities did they let you in. After about an hour of waiting in the King's quarters with Rouge, the sounds of fighting finally died down.

"You don't seem fazed." Natsume said with a worried look in her eyes.

Was that obvious? "I've lived in the Grand Line. Nothing fazes me anymore." You said quietly. The two of you waited there for a while longer, and Rouge fell asleep.

The royal army Captain came into the room in which you were hiding.

"You may come out now. The king has settled the matter diplomatically." He said.

Natsume stood up. "But they were in the Dector wing, didn't they come to threaten him again? What if the detonate it now? It doesn't matter how far we run-"

"Your Highness, the king wanted me to tell you that they have disarmed the bombs. The Revolutionary Army was here." The captain said.

"They really came...?" She muttered. "Are we saved?"

"So, it would seem."

She smiled. "Kairo-sama! I have to see him." She stood up and rushed to the door.

"Wait!" The captain said. "He's currently in a meeting with..." His voice disappeared as he followed her out.

You sighed happily. "Sabo really came through." You whispered to a sleeping Rouge.

He would be calling you any minute now, so you had to get to your transponder snail. You carried Rouge out of the room and left the two boys sleeping there. You weren't familiar with this side of the palace, so you were a little lost until you reached a place that you knew, the throne room. It was strange though, there were no guards anywhere in sight, and yet you heard voices from the throne room.

Curiously, you peeked in. To your surprise, the king was there and standing before him was Sabo.

"-all the spy said?" Sabo asked.

"Unfortunately, yes." Kairo said. "Before we could probe him on how to disarm the bomb, he killed himself. Such loyalty."

Sabo frowned. "Well, thanks for the information." He put his pipe behind him, and turned to leave.

"I'll have my men give you 5 million berry worth of gold, to thank the Revolutionary Army for saving my kingdom." Kairo said.

"That's not why we do this, you don't need to pay us. Besides, someone in your palace contacted us for help. It's fine."

Kairo chuckled. "Ah, I'm sure that was my wife. She always does unnecessary things. But, if you won't accept payment, then take the money as a donation to the people taking care of my sister."

Sabo stopped, and turned back to him. "What?"

"Everywhere in this palace is well guarded. No matter how I think about it, only the west palace leads to the outside without any guards. Y/N came here for that purpose right? To let you in?" He asked.

"She insisted on it. I didn't want her to, but she wanted to save you." Sabo told him.

"What a fool. It's just like her though, to join the Revolutionary Army." Kairo stepped down from the the throne. "I guess that means she's leaving again. Please, take care of her for me."

You gasped, what did he just say?

"Pretending to care about her now won't help you." Sabo said, looking angry.

Kairo observed him for a moment. "Is it you then? The father of her baby?"

"So what if it is?" His eyes were still filled with fury.

"Then you know what is? And the two of you are still together? Even though she is an inferior creature?" Kairo asked, now standing level with Sabo.

You debated on whether to intervene or not when Sabo angrily gripped his pipe. "What did you just call her, you bastard?"

The king stepped back slightly to keep a little distance between them. "I seem to have offended you." He said. "But it's the truth, is it not, that my sister is a half fishman race. I don't think any less of her for it. That's who she is, doesn't change anything."

Kairo's words caught both you and Sabo by surprise.

_♤What? No, you always referred to me as inferior and separated me from everyone. To say that now, you have to be joking, right, Brother-sama?♤_

"What are you talking about? after all the shit you put her through, you're just gonna stand here and lie straight to my face?" Sabo shouted.

"I'm not lying. I speak only the truth. I have no feelings whatsoever towards my sister's race or her parentage. I only have her best interests at heart."

"Are you joking? You killed her father because he was unworthy of your mother. You forced her mother to live a lie for years before she died! You say you had her best interests at heart?" Sabo asked.

"I did. Well my sister and i have our differences, so I doubt she'd say anything good about me. I don't think you want to hear the story, it's too long to tell." Kairo said.

Story? What story? You didn't move, but you were sure that Sabo could sense you there with his observation haki.

"Tell me. Well, I think you owe her that much." Sabo said.

"I don't want her feeling indebted to me or to this kingdom, after all, in this kingdom, we are raised to believe people like her to be inferior. She would never be free here, that's why I sent her away."

"What are you talking about? Say something that makes sense!" Sabo said.

You did not understand what was going on, you couldn't move. You had to listen to their conversation to the end, what is Kairo talking about?

"Actually, now that I think about it, it's not that long ago story. Mother was always sad, depressed and sick but then one day in my early teenage years, she suddenly walked around with a smile. I loved my mother and it made me glad to see her happy. I wanted to know what was that could have possibly made her happy. That was how I found out that she was having an affair with one of the servants." He smiled. "She didn't deny it when I confronted her about it. I was angry of course, taking such a risk putting her own life in danger, if the king found out he would have killed her and her lover, but I didn't want her to stop being happy. So I pretended that I didn't know anything."

This was news to you. So many things didn't add up. If this was true, how come the relationship between your mother and Kairo was always bad, no matter how you remembered it? And why did he kill your father?

"But one mother told me that she was pregnant and she begged me to let her escape. She was running away with him. I tried to help them get away when Father was not home, but I couldn't." Kairo sighed. "He returned home earlier than anticipated when they were escaping on the boat. If he saw his wife running away with a servant, he would have killed them both. Even if they managed to escape he would have hunted them down and killed them all. I had no choice I had to protect my mother and to save her and her unborn child. That's why I killed the fishman and lied saying he'd taken the queen hostage."

_♤Dammit, why am I crying? Why now? Why?♤_

"I don't know if he resented me for it, but I know that Mother did. Even if I did it to protect her, how could she forgive her son for killing the only man she ever loved? Even after the child was born, when father believed Y/N was his, mother would lock herself up in the West Palace with her daughter and she wouldn't see me." Kairo said sadly. "It's not like I blame her, maybe it made me a little angry because I had to kill to protect her but she couldn't forgive me for it. But that's all in the past, right."

_♤Don't say that with such a sad look in your eyes, brother. Just how much pain did you carry by yourself?♤_

"So then, before your mother died, did you get to make up with her?" Sabo asked quietly.

"That woman... You know every time that I went to visit her, after she got sick, she would turn away her face and wouldn't show it to me. But I would sit by her bedside stubbornly refusing to go and I would talk and tell her about my life, everything. And she never once turned to look at me. It's laughable, isn't it?" He turned to the side.

You could not hold in the tears, holding Rouge tightly to your chest as you soaked her in tears. How could he endure all this by himself?

"A few days before she died, I went to visit her and she said to me, she told me, _'Kairo __I'm_ _sorry__, __I __know__ that you did it for us but __it's__ still really __hard__. Because I was selfish, you had to kill... a mother like me, __can't__ protect her daughter and __can't__ forgive her son!'_ " Kairo's face was turned, but his voice broke. "_'If you really want me to forgive you, you have __to_ _let your sister __go__. Please.'_ She looked at me for the first time in years and she said that to me. If Y/N stayed here, she would never be free because this country would never accept her so, I let her go. It was my mother's last wish."

_♤_ _Mother's_ _ last wish?♤_

"Why did you have to do it in such a painful way? Why traumatise her the way you did? You could have parted on good terms!" Sabo berated him.

"Y/N was too attached to Mother, there is no way she could ever leave the West Palace without a probable reason. I had to make that reason. She is she was always self-conscious about who she was and she was always hiding from us, so I created a passageway for her to be able to reach the sea without worrying about anybody seeing her. But I told her it was because I didn't want her to bring shame to the royal family. I was a bad brother but I tried my best to protect her. That was my mother's wish after all. As she grew older, I said that I would arrange a marriage for her and I knew that would be the final straw, that she would finally leave. But I was afraid that when things got hard, she would come back so I had to make sure that she wouldn't." He turned around, and you had not seen that much sadness in one face since your mother's death.

"I said all kinds of terrible things so that she would never come back, so that she would stay free forever, just like mother wanted. It was better if she hated me. After all, she is the only sister I have."

And now you're crying because the tears just can't stop. Why, why would he say that? Why would he do that to you? Why couldn't the two of you have a normal relationship?

"Well, she still came all this way to save you." Sabo said.

"She's a fool."

"You're the foolish one. You pushed your sister away because you were afraid she wouldn't forgive you either." Sabo told him. "All that girl ever wanted was a family, you shouldn't have decided for her that she couldn't find it here."

He was right.

"These things don't matter to her. Even after you pushed her away, she still loves you. No matter what you've done, no matter how badly you treated her, a brother is a brother." Sabo said.

Kairo smiled. "Even a bad one?"

"You just told me this story because you wanted someone to know. I'm taking Y/N back home with me tomorrow. Before that, I'm sure that you have to tell her the truth."

He shook his head. "What use is dredging up the past gonna do now? She found a real family that accepts her now. I have nothing to say to my little sister."

You pushed the door open all the way.

"Well, I have something to say to you!" You said.

"Y/N, what are you-" Kairo's face was ashen, as he realised that you heard what he'd said.

"Shut up, Brother-sama! You never listen to me." You handed Rouge over to Sabo. "Why do you punish yourself like that? Why couldn't you share some of your pain with me and we could have gotten through it together? You're always like this always an asshole!"

"I don't know what you want me to say. You always wanted to see the outside world, I just freed you from this place to do just that. You don't have to come back ever again!" Kairo said defensively.

"But don't tell me not to come here, this place is my home and I don't care if you want me to hate you or whatever, I'll come back again to visit sometime." You said boldly. "When we have more time, I'll bring my daughter and she'll play with her cousins. I know that you and I will never really be the best of friends but all I wanted was for us to get along so I don't care how you feel about it, I'm going to come and visit again. Natsume-sama and I are going to hang out and we're going to have a lot of fun together."

He was dumbfounded at your declaration.

"Even if I'm leaving tomorrow, this is far from the end. You can't get rid of me that easily." You said, you bowed down before him, your face looking down. "Brother-sama, thank you for your kindness, and thank you for watching over me even from a distance." You raised your head.

"Let's go, Sabo. I came here to save him, and I did. I'm just gonna say goodbye to Natsume-sama, and we can go home." You said turning heel. Sabo didn't say anything, just followed you out.

"I see. Then come back anytime." You heard the voice say before you closed the door behind you and burst into tears again.

***


	21. Ace's Will

You were happier on your journey back home than you were going to the Tombe kingdom. There was no love lost between you and your brother, but there were no sweet words either. After you bid a lovely farewell to your nephews and your sister-in-law, you bowed before him, and said goodbye.

All he said back to you was, "Travel safely, and come back anytime. There is always a place for you here, my dear sister."

You refused to cry, but well, the tears came on their own. It was good to know that you had a place to come back to if things ever got too hard.

"Thank you." You said that night on the ship as you lay next to Sabo.

"What for?" He asked.

"You know, reuniting me with Kairo. I don't think I would have been brave enough to go back to that place if it wasn't for you." You told him. "I'm really grateful."

"I don't think I did much. You're the one who wanted to save them."

You smiled. "That's true, but I learned to be braver by watching you. And I could only do this because I knew that you were watching my back."

"Hmm, well, the good thing is, I scored points with your brother." Sabo said.

"I think he liked you, yeah." You laughed. "Say, do you think Luffy will like me too?"

"I know he will." Sabo said putting an arm around you.

"I hope so, I can't wait to meet him." You said leaning into Sabo to allow yourself to fall asleep for the rest of the journey back home.

***

As the seasons changed in Baltigo, the place became even emptier. No more refugees were brought here, and the students in Mesland School were relocated to different places around the world for training, and those who were old enough, became Revolutionary Army soldiers.

Kai, now living with you was training harder than ever, and accompanied Sabo on nearly every mission he was going to. Maya was staying with Robin and Koala as well. By the end of June the only families left in Baltigo were those of a few executive officers including you and the place seemed drearier than ever.

Your move was delayed for a couple of weeks because you suddenly contracted a stomach bug, nothing too serious, you just stayed at home and rested for a few days. However, a few nights before you were due to leave for Momoiro Island, Sabo received a strange call in the middle of the night.

Ring, ring, ring, ring. Gotcha.

"Hello?" Sabo answered.

"Is this the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army?" The voice on the other side asked.

Sabo frowned, not recognising it. "Depends on who's asking."

"Please hold." The man said, and then to someone else, he said. "Boss, he's on the line."

They must have switched places, because it was someone else who spoke next. "Hello kid. It's been a while."

Sabo sat up really fast, and cursed. "Crocodile." He said. "How the hell did you get this number?"

A sinister laugh came from the former warlord. "I sell all kinds of things, information is one of the ways people can pay."

"Whatever. What do you want, Crocodile?" Sabo asked.

"Someone seized my freighter in Fishman Island two days ago. There's something very important for me in there. I would like you to get it back for me." He said.

"Why the hell would I do anything for you? It's probably something dangerous anyway, so good riddance I say."

"I figured you'd say that. That's why I want to make a deal." Crocodile negotiated.

"I don't think there's anything that you can offer me that would make me even consider-"

"The Flare Flare Fruit."

Hearing this, you also sat up in shock. Sabo's hands were trembling and his eyes darkened as Crocodile continued.

"According to the grapevine, you'd do anything for that fruit, kid."

"You better not be messing with me." Sabo said quietly.

"Oh? So it's true?" Crocodile mused. "If you get my freighter back, I'll tell you what I know about that fruit. And trust me, you won't find anyone else among your spies who knows about it."

"Do you have the fruit?" Sabo asked.

"No." He replied. "But I know who has it. That person recently obtained it, but they haven't used it yet."

"What is on that freighter?" Sabo asked looking down. You stared at him, was he going to do as Crocodile said?

"The people guarding my goods, and a weapon." He said. "The people got captured, so they are probably dead, but forget about those. What's important is the weapon. You'll know when you see it."

"I can't help you with something like that." Sabo finally said.

"I guess we don't have a deal then." Crocodile said and ended the call.

Sabo stared blankly at the transponder snail, thinking.

"Sabo?" You said quietly.

He didn't turn to look at you. "It's for the best."

"Sabo, I know how much you've been searching for Ace's fruit. This isn't an opportunity that you can just simply allow to pass by." You said.

"I do want it. Still, I don't feel good about helping Crocodile." Sabo said.

You placed your hand gently on his shoulder and smiled. "If you want it, then take it. There's no one else in the world, apart from you that I will allow to have that fruit."

He hesitated for a moment before he called Crocodile back.

"Did you change your mind already?" He asked when he answered.

"Tell me this, what kind of a weapon is it?" Sabo asked.

"Oh, just a couple hundred machine guns. Nothing major."

"What the hell do you want with those? I won't help you if you're gonna harm innocent people." Sabo told him seriously.

Crocodile laughed. "Relax, kid. I only want to arm my men to protect my hotel, you know how it is out here, there are Emperors' larkies everywhere, going around trying to gain territories for them. I just want to protect my establishment. That's all."

Sabo frowned, trying to gauge if he was lying or not. And then he sighed. "Fine,but I'm only giving you the benefit of the doubt because you saved Luffy's life at Marineford." He said.

"Hmm? You know Straw Hat?"

"Tell me about your shipment." Sabo said ignoring the question.

"Very well. It seems more and more ships are disappearing at Fishman Island. One of my subordinates managed to escape from the ship when a group called the New Fishman Pirates attacked them." He answered. "Shes been tailing them, and once you get to the island, she will show you where to go. I'm sure that it won't be a problem for someone of your capabilites. "

"I don't get why you don't just go yourself."

"I have my reasons. Now, can I leave this matter in your hands?" He asked.

"Fine, but you better keep your end of the deal, or I'll just confiscate those weapons myself." Sabo warned him, which made the other man laugh.

After ending the call, Sabo turned back to you. "Well, you better get your things in order because we are going to the New World."

You looked up at him in surprise. "I'm coming too?"

"Of course. Rouge too. It's about that time. I made you a promise last year, that I'd take you to visit Ace's grave. So, let's go together." He smiled.

"Sabo..." You said throwing your arms around him again. "I love you."

"Of course you do." He grinned.

***

Even though they were shortlived, saying goodbyes was always hard for you. Today was your last day in Baltigo, after this, you were not coming back here. You walked along the seaside with Kai, thinking about all the good times you spent in this place, the friends you made, and the family you found.

"I'll miss this place too, Y/N-san." Kai said looking at the sorrowful expression on your face.

"Sorry, am I souring the mood?" You asked.

"Not at all." He said. "This place is special to me too. I met you here, and Sensei, and I found the real me in this place. I am honestly grateful too."

You picked up a seashell, and threw it into the water. "When Sabo first brought me here, I was a lost person too. But he helped me to become a better person, a better mother too." You smiled. "Things weren't always smooth of course, but we made it. Both of us. There was a time when I lived just day to day, you know. Alone."

"We should get going. He's waiting for us at the harbour." Kai said.

"Okay, let's go."

Robin, Koala, Maya and Sabo were waiting by the ship for you to arrive. You were going with Kai and Maya along with Sabo and two Revolutionary soldiers, so you had to say goodbye to Robin and Koala.

"I'll miss you so much, Koala-chan." You said giving her a hug.

"What are you talking about?" She said smiling. "I'll see you in a couple of weeks."

"I know, but it seems so far away." You cried.

"Don't worry about it. I'll see you soon, okay? If anything, you should be sadder about Robin-san." Koala pointed out. Raising your head, and detaching yourself from Koala, you threw yourself at Robin.

"Robin-san!" You cried. "Will we see each other again? You're leaving next week, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but don't worry, Y/N, I'm sure that we'll meet again soon." She smiled.

"Of course you will. Robin's gonna be meeting up with Luffy, and I want to see him again, and I want you to meet him too, Y/N. Don't worry, you'll see her again before we leave the New World." Sabo said.

You nodded, swallowing your tears as you hugged Robin goodbye.

With Sabo doing the navigation, you did not take long until you arrived at Momoiro Island. Iva was as delightful as always, as was the welcome that you received. Unfortunately, you did not have time to waste, and you only spent a few hours there before continuing on your hourney to Fishman Island. You did not get to see Sanji this time with your limited time, and you only manged to drop off all of your stuff on the Island.

***

Thanks to Sabo arranging it with a comrade first, a coated ship was waiting for you at the Sabaody Archipelago as well as am eternal pose to Fishman Island.

Watching the sea from underwater through the clear coating of the ship seemed to fascinate both Maya and Kai as they had never had an experience like this before. It was nothing new to you, of course, but you appreciated the beauty of it all the same.

You retired to the bed after a short while though, not feeling well.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Sabo asked, hovering over you in your room.

"It's nothing, I guess I'm just a little seasick." You said.

"You never get seasick he heads to the bed and he placed a hand on your forehead. "You don't have a fever either." He frowned.

"Yeah I told you, it is nothing serious." You said. "Don't worry."

"Still," He frowned, "Maybe what is making you sick is the absurd amount of chocolate that you've been eating."

You blinked. You hadn't noticed that at all, but lately you had been craving chocolate like crazy, and there were a dozen wrappers in the bin.   
"Yeah, I think I have been eating a lot of it. You didn't think much of it at the time but at the back of your head, something clicked, something like this had happened before. Almost three years ago.

Deja vu? There was no way, right?

"We just passed through the entrance, I'm just looking for a good place to leave the ship." Sabo told you. "Do you want to explore the place or something, get some fresh air?"

"I explored to my heart's content the last time I was here." You said, remembering the first time you'd come here, searching for your father's family, only to discover that they were all gone.

"So, you'll stay here?" He asked you before he, Kai and three other soldiers left to meet up with Crocodile's subordinate, so that they could discuss the method on how they would recover the weapon from the freighter.

"I'm not sure," You said honestly. "I think I'll just go for a swim or something. I'll leave one of the soldiers with Maya to look after Rouge, okay?"

"Well, that's fine. Just be careful okay?" Sabo said giving you a goodbye kiss.

When the boys were gone, you fed Rouge first before you went outside. From where your ship was docked, it was it was close to the sea water. You went for a swim down there to clear your mind from wondering if you really only had a stomach bug or if it was so much more.

It was strange swimming down here in the bottom of the ocean, because here you were, a mermaid in the sea and you seemed to be fitting in well with the citizens of this place, in your mermaid form, more so than you had ever done with the humans back on the surface.

As you allowed the sea water to wash over you, you wondered what would have happened if your mother and your father had actually succeeded in running away from the Tombe kingdom. Would they have come to Fishman Island and raised you here? You wondered if you would have faced still the same stigma that you faced in the world of humans here. After all, you were only half mermaid. It was a strange sort of predicament and you couldn't see yourself ever having had a peaceful life anywhere. This Walsoken part of the reason why you frlt that there was no reason for you to blame your brother for what he did.

After getting a coffee from Mermaid Cafe, you wandered about in the town in your human form. It wasn't too strange, there were plenty of humans around too. You bought some food ingredients, and then you made her way back to the ship.

With time to spare, you made dinner for everyone and you waited for them to come back. You ate with Maya and Rouge in the meantime.

They returned some time in the middle of the night. You awoke to the sound of a large crater being carried into the ship. You went out onto the deck, and saw Sabo there, a woman was there with him as well. You supposed she must be Crocodile's subordinate. Kai and the soldiers with him looked slightly injured, but it looked like nothing too serious.

"Hey, did everything go well?" You asked Sabo as you went to greet him.

"As well as they could possibly have gone. This place is probably on the verge of a civil war though, so I don't want you getting involved in it." Sabo told you. "I'll alert Koala and see if they can help. So we better get out of here as quickly as we can."

"Okay, yeah." You agreed. If he'd spotted the signs of a civil war, he was probably right.

"I kept my end of the bargain. You know where we're going, right?" He said to the lady that they brought with them.

She nodded. "Yes, of course. I already spoke to the boss. The package is to be delivered to his hotel. I have an eternal pose to the island, so I will lead you there."

"Alright, I understand." Sabo stretched and yawned. "I'm tired, Kai, put the crater with the weapons in the storage room of the ship." He ordered.

"Yes, Sensei." Kai said, and did as he was told.

"Hey, Sabo? I made some food earlier." You said to him. "Are you hungry?"

"Are you kidding? I'm starving." He said looking at you gratefully. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah I am." You smiled. You didn't tell him what it was you were suspecting to be wrong with you.

Not yet.

"Okay good. Make sure the others eat too. We're leaving early tomorrow morning." He said as you dished out the food for him.

You agreed, and you made sure that all the others that weren't there with you also ate to their fill as well. After that, you just sat there with Sabo and watched him as he ate, your mind wandering to thoughts of the possible for you too.

You were asleep when the ship started miving again, and you resurfaced the following day, on Rouge's birthday. It also marked the second year anniversary of the day that you first met Sabo.

You spent a quiet day on the ship with your daughter, and made a special dinner for everyone, including the cake (chocolate) that you bought at Fishman Island to celebrate Rouge's second birthday.

And you spent the night with Sabo commemorating the two years that you had known each other.

~

Two days later, you arrived at the island where Crocodile was staying at. It was a surprisingly rather dry, windy island with nothing but sandy landscape visible for miles. There were people waiting to meet you there at the dock. Sabo took two other soldiers with him as Crocodile's subordinates transported the crater in

You remained on the ship with Kai and Maya as well as some of the other Revolutionaries that you had come with, who stayed there to protect you. Sabo did not want you to go up that to the hotel with him, not desiring to give Crocodile any leverage over him.

You waited out there for him for three days, nothing much happened except you staying inside most of the time because there were sandstorms outside. When Sabo returned however, he seemed quite excited.

"Well, how did it go?" You asked him. "Did you manage to figure out where the Flare Flare Fruit is?"

"Yes, yes, I did. According to Crocodile, Doflamingo managed to procure the fruit somehow. I know that it's a coincidence, but we are going to be meeting with Koala and Hack on Dressrosa as well. We want to find out more about the Doflamingo's weapons that he sells under the alias of Joker." He smiled. "So, I think it is kind of meant to be."

He looked really happy and the smile was infectious. "I'm glad that you're happy." You smiled too.

"Oh, by the way, look at this! There's something else, something exciting. I think we'll be able to see Robin sooner than we thought too." He said excitedly.

"Hmm? What do you mean?" You asked and he showed you the World Economic journal. In there, on the front page were nine faces (Sanji was the only one facing away from the camera), and the title was '_The __Straw__ Hat Pirates are back!'_

"Oh! This is great! Then I can see Robin-san and Sanji-kun again! I can meet Luffy-kun too." You said just as excited too. "I'm can't wait to introduce him to Rouge as well."

"Yeah, it will be good to be able to see him again. He looks jist like himself. Look, hes laughing on his bounty poster." Sabo smiled. "It looks like he's healed too."

You snuggled up to him. "Of course he has. It has been two years." You said. "So, are we going to meet with Koala-chan in Dressrossa after this?"

"Not yet. We're going to visit Ace first."

"Yeah. Let's do that." You said.

***  
Sabo docked the ship in front of some caves at some island in the New World the following afternoon.

"Wait for us here. There's someone we need to meet." He instructed to Kai and the others. "We'll be back after sunset."

You wrapped Rouge in a blanket and took your carrier bag with you. On the other side of the caves, was a small village, and you followed Sabo to it.

Was this the island where Ace was buried? You wondered. Sabo, however, headed towards a small clinic, busy with people just sitting around there.

"Who are you, outsiders?" A familiar voice said from behind you as someone came up to you. "I saw your ship, what the hell is the Revolutionary Army doing on this island?"

You turned around, and we're shocked to see Marco coming towards you. "M-Marco-san?"

He stopped, equally surprised to see you. He looked from you to Sabo to the baby sleeping in your arms. "Y/N?"

"Is there somewhere more private where we can talk?" Sabo asked.

~

"So you're here to visit Ace, huh? I'm sure he'll like that." Marco said handing both of you a cup of tea as you sat down in the small cottage that he lived in. Rouge was awake now too, reaching for the cup, not knowing it was hot.

"Y/N, that child....how old is she?" Marco asked also sitting down.

You trusted Marco, so you did not want to lie to him. "She just turned two a few days ago."

"Then, is she...?"

You nodded. "Yeah, she's a gift that Ace left me with."

Marco placed a hand over his mouth. "That's crazy." He said. "But I am glad that you both survived. I heard that the Navy was looking for you, but when I went to Issaquah Island to search for you, nobody knew where you went. It was like you vanished into thin air. Naturally, I assumed the worst." He paused. "I suppose it makes sense, there's no better place to hide from the World Government than in the Revolutionary Army. Is that why you joined them?"

"No." You shook your head. "He found us, and protected us. It's because of him that we have the protection of the Revolutionary Army. This is Sabo. Ace's brother."

Marco's eyes snapped up to look at Sabo. "Brother?"

"Yeah." Sabo spoke for the first time in a while. "Ace, Luffy and I grew up together. The three of us are sworn brothers. I'm very grateful to you and your comrades for protecting Luffy."

"Ah, Ace's brother huh. Well, it was the least we could do, we failed to protect Ace and Pops in that battle." Marco said quietly.

"Maybe. But, at least you were there with him in his final moments. I couldn't even be there to save my brother." Sabo's hands clenched into fists.

"You shouldn't live with regrets." Marco sighed. "Because you weren't there, you were able to save Y/N on time. If it had been left to us, both her and the child would be dead because we were too late to find her."

Sabo smiled sadly, "I suppose that's a positive way to look at it."

You spent the rest of the afternoon talking to Marco about a lot of things. Ace, the Payback War, the location of the other Whitebeard Pirates among others. Sabo gave him his contact details in case this place was attacked as he feared, so that the Revolutionary Army could come and help. Marco also seemed to have taken quite a liking to Rouge, as he gave her homemade toys to play with from his clinic.

Finally, he directed you to where the graves were.

"Can I go ahead first?" Sabo asked.

"Yeah, sure. There's something that I want to talk to Marco-san about anyway." You smiled.

Sabo nodded, and headed towards the grave site.

You walked back to Marco and Rouge, and he was smiling. "You know, I don't get a lot of good news out here. So seeing you here, really is a nice surprise."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm really glad that you're okay, Y/N." He said.

"Marco-san, can I ask a favour of you?" You asked.

"Yeah, anything."

"You're a doctor, right? Lately, I've been having some symptoms I had once before and I suspect something. I need you to confirm it for me." You told him.

"Are you sick?"

"No. No. At least I hope not." You smiled.

"Okay, come to the examination room." He said leading you into his clinic.

***

Sabo stood in front of his brother's grave, and a sense of grief struck his heart. The wind blew on his face, and he took off his hat, and bowed.

"I finally managed to get here, Ace." He said, and placed the newspaper detailing Luffy's return on top of the grave.

"Look at this, Ace. Luffy has already started back on his journey to becoming the king of the pirates." Sabo said laying down three sake cups in front of the paper. "That's to be expected from our little brother."

Sabo's eyes lingered briefly on the faces on Ace's hat, one was smiling, one was sad. One was alive and one was dead. His brothers. Was this how Ace remembered him?

He was talking lightly, but his heart had never been heavier. "I guess both you and Luffy are angry with me." He said quietly, "Even though you needed me, I couldn't go save you..."

His vision blurred as the tears began to fall. His voice was now a chocked whisper. "I'm sorry, Ace. I know it means nothing now that you're gone, but, I really am sorry. I wish that somehow... I could have met you while you were still alive..."

He took a brief momentary pause before continuing. "About that woman, she says she doesn't blame me, can you believe it? I can tell that she really loved you, I'm sure that you did too. That's why I saved her, I hoped it would help me to atone for not saving you. But in the end, I kept her for myself...."

"Ace, I know that she was yours, but I love Y/N. And honestly, at this point, even if you were alive.... I don't think I could ever give her up for you." He looked down, wiping his tears. "I don't know if that makes you happy or sad, but I promise you that I will protect her with my life."

He opened the bottle of sake and poured some into each of the three cups, and drank from one of them. "I promise, I will be the one to inherit your will!"

You carried Rouge in your arms and approached the grave. Sabo stood up when you arrived.

"I'll give you a moment." Sabo said attempting to leave.

"No, stay." You said.

You were determined not to cry, Ace wouldn't like it if you cried.

"Hey, did you miss me?" You asked laying a rose on the grave. "I bet you did. You know, Ace, you never gave me any gifts...you didn't want me to have anything to remember you by, so it would be easier to forget you if I ever lost you, right?"

You sat down with Rouge on your lap.   
"You idiot, you left me something amazing. This child. I named her after your mother, so I know you'd adore her."

You raised Rouge's face, so that she was looking at her father's grave. "Rouge, this is your other dad. He was gone when you were born, but he's still your father too. I will tell you all about him when you grow up." You said. The child did not look like she understood what you were saying but she could see that her mother was sad, so she placed her tiny hand on your face.

"Isn't she just an angel?" You smiled. "Ace, like you wanted, I didn't fall apart, even though I came close. I mourned you for months, but I was able to move on. So you don't have to worry about us. Your brother found us, and he took care of so.... you can rest in peace, okay?"

You reached out your hand, and held Sabo's hand as he helped you to stand up.

"It's okay right? For him to take care of us? For us to be a family. It's okay for Sabo to help me raise our daughter as his too, right, Ace?" You asked, unsure of what kind of response a dead person could give.

_♤Of course, that includes the life growing inside of me right now.♤_

The sun started to set on the horizon, bathing the three of you in the warm evening heat. It set, changing the colour of the entire landscape into a fiery yellow. A warm and burning gold rose into the sky, as if consuming your entire existence, just like Ace's fire.

You smiled. "I'll take that as a yes."

After bowing one last time in front of the grave, the three of you walked away.

Your next destination, Dressrossa.


	22. Dressrosa

The ship moved steadily along the sea on the way to Dressrossa. It was just after dinner and you sat with your arms crossed on the bed talking to Sabo.

"Do you have to do everything? There are other navigators on the ship." You whined. "They have the log pose, they know where to go. You don't have to babysit them."

"What's this? You seem to be craving a lot of attention today. I wonder why." He frowned.

"Does that matter? I mean, do I need a reason to want to spend time with my boyfriend? Come on, Rouge is with Maya tonight, we have the room to ourselves for the first time in a while." You said.

"Still, it's only a few hours until we reach Dressrossa, I want to stay on alert." He said. "It's not like I don't want to spend some time with you. I do."

"After this we're going to Momoiro Island, and you're going back to Baltigo. I won't see you for a while, come on, spend the night with me." You said. "Pleeeaase Sa-chan?"

He sighed. "Well, I can't refuse an order from her royal Highness. Hold on, I'll put Kai in charge."

You grinned happily as he went outside to give orders and make sure everything in the voyage was going smoothly.

When he came back, he got into the bed with you, and you snuggled up to him contentedly. He had been so busy lately and had not had much attention to spare for you, so you were going to take all that you could get for as long as you could.

"Wait a second, you made me abandon my duties... _just to cuddle_?" He sounded exasperated.

"Yup, what were you expecting?" You teased.

"You're a sly woman." He sighed, and placed his arms around you, pulling you closer to him so that your head rested on his chest.

"Are you going to eat Ace's devil fruit tomorrow if you find it?" You asked quietly.

"Yeah. I won't let anybody else have it." He said. Then he looked down at your face, "Unless perhaps.... do you want to eat it yourself? Because if you do, there's no one better I can think of to inherit his power."

You gave him an unwavering smile, "No, I enjoy being in the seawater... a mermaid who can't swim? I can't imagine that." You said. "Besides, I'm not a fighter, and I wouldn't be able to put the power to good use. That'd be a waste. I already told you, I want you to have it."

"Okay," He placed a kiss on your forehead. "I was just making sure."

You snuggled even closer to him, wondering when you were going to tell him the truth that you were having a baby. He would definitely be happy, right? Sure now was not really a good time to talk about it, what with the mission he was on; investigating the weapons trafficking. You would tell him, you decided, when he was done with this mission.

You fell asleep with him there, wondering to yourself if there was ever going to be a good time to discuss being parents in this world.

***

You made landfall in Dressrosa docked the ship behind one of the rocks surrounding the island late the following morning. Koala and Hack's team had just arrived a little earlier than you, so they were still waiting for you to arrive.

"Koala-chan!" You ran over to give her a hug happily. "I missed you!"

"How come you're never that happy to see me?" Sabo grumbled coming out after you.

"Oh, you shut up, Sabo-kun," Koala scowled at him. "I'm happy to see you too, Y/N-chan." 

Hack handed Sabo a newspaper. "We might have a problem, look at the headline." He said.

Sabo took the paper and read it, curiously, you let go of Koala and peeked over his shoulder. Sabo gasped as he read one of the articles on the front page, "Whoa, a Warlord! That is insane!"

"I know, why would he give it up? It makes no sense, right?" Koala asked.

"Hmm, what are you talking about?" Sabo blinked. "Give up what?"

Hack frowned, "What were you just reading?"

Sabo flipped the newspaper to show him, excited, "Look, Luffy formed an alliance with Trafalgar Law, from the Seven Warlords! Isn't that exciting? He seems to be moving rather quickly! I bet he is going after one of the Four-"

"Sabo-kun... that's good, but we're on a mission. Focus!" Koala pulled his ear roughly, shoving the paper in his face. "This one, this is the article we wanted you to see! It's literally on the front page too!" 

"Ouch, okay, geez." He said stepping away from her reach as he read the right article this time. "What's this? Doflamingo has abdicated the throne of Dressrosa and resigned from the Warlords? What is going on?" 

"My sentiments exactly." Hack said. "There is bound to be an uproar in the country, what do we do if this impedes our mission?" 

"No." Sabo said thoughtfully. "I don't know why he did it, but we can use Doflamingo's resignation to our benefit. It will be easier for us to slip into the country undetected, hiding under all that noise. As long as none of us causes any noticeable trouble, we should be able to get in and out with the information we need undetected."

"Those words are all nice and simple, but we all know who amongst us is more likely to cause trouble." Hack said pointedly.

"Don't look at me like that, I mean, sure we're here about the weapons to put a stop to the unending battles all over the world fostered by these black market deals. But if there is something that needs to be done in this country, we'll do it." Sabo said. "That's why we need to stay in disguise, and do a little more investigating first."

"What do you mean if something needs to be done?" Koala asked.

"The history of this country does not sit well with me, I looked it all up, before we left Baltigo and they had a good king who suddenly went crazy and killed the citizens one night. And out of the blue, Doflamingo showed up to save them, and became the new king. I just feel like there's something that doesn't add up, that's all." Sabo explained.

"Alright, if there are any other secrets in this country we will uncover them too, so let's get started." Koala said putting on a dark cloak over her clothes.

Sabo turned to you, "Do you want to stay here with the ship and wait until we return or you want to go out?"

"I need to stretch my legs. I want to go into town, do some shopping and buy some new clothes." You told him. 

"Alright, what about Rouge? Will you take her with? I can lead you into town, check if there is not too much commotion to see if it is safe for you. If it is, we'll have to part there. If it is too dangerous, Kai will bring you back. Is that okay?" He said.

"It's fine. I'll confirm with Maya." You hurried back into the ship, to Maya's room where she was busy feeding Rouge some porridge.

"Hey, sweetie, do you wanna come into the city with us?" You asked.

She hurriedly shook her head furiously. 

"Why not, I can smell the flowers from here, I'm sure that they are really pretty." You tried to coax her. She seemed to think for a moment, and then shuddered.

'Too many people' She signed with her hands.

You sighed, even though she had become a little more expressive and outgoing since the time you two met, and even though she seemed to enjoy being around Kai too, she still could not stand crowds. It was understandable of course, in the war that took place in her country before the Revolutionary Army saved her, she had to run for life amid a a crowd of other villagers. You did not know all the details but you were sure that she had run, fell, screamed andd cried in those days until she lost her voice because of all the trauma. You could not force her to come with you.

You nodded, "Alright, then... Tetsu and the other soldiers will stay here with you guarding the ship." You said. "I hope Rouge doesn't give you too much trouble."

She nodded in understanding.

"If she needs anything, I'll have the baby Transponder snail with me, so you can call me anytime. I made enough food for everyone to eat now, I'll buy some more in the city, so all you need to do is to reheat it. Also, as for Rouge's food-" You started to say, but Maya just laughed.

'Go, have fun. We'll be fine.' She signed.

"Okay... okay." You said grudgingly and gave Rouge a kiss before leaving her there with Maya.

***  
This town that you landed on was beautiful. The buildings were well structured and pleasing to look at. The scent of flowers was everywhere in the town. People were jostling about pleasantly as the five of you walked through the town. You were the only one not wearing a disguise seeing as no one knew your face.

"Guys, am I tripping, or are the toys walking and talking to the people like it's normal?" You asked watching as a boy played with a talking dog toy.

"Yeah, it looks that way. They don't seem bothered by it at all." Koala marveled. "Wouldn't it be rude if we asked what's up with that?"

"Huh? But, I wanna know." You sighed. "Well, it doesn't look dangerous, so you'll let us explore around town, right Sabo? It seems quiet."

"Yeah," To your surprise, he frowned. "It's too quiet. Too calm for a country that just lost its king."

"I agree," Hack said. "They should be a little more panicked than this. Something is definitely wrong."

"In that case, we better hurry and find out what it is." Koala said.

"Y/N, it doesn't look like anything will happen, so you can do your shopping around town with Kai." He said to you.

"Just the two of us?" Kai piped up

"Don't get any ideas, kid." Sabo warned him before turning back to you. "Do you have enough money to buy what you want?"

"I think so." You nodded.

"Take this anyway." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a pouch full of money and placed it in your hands.

"I really don't need this much." You protested but he shook his head.

"Save it for another time then." He waved before disappearing down a street corner with Koala and Hack.

"He just does whatever he wants." You mumbled after they left. "Come on, Kai, let's get something to eat."

"Hmm? You didn't eat before we left?" He asked.

"I have to eat more than normal these days. Just come on, will you." You said dragging him along.

There were many restaurants around which served delicious food. You wanted to try the cuisine in this place, to see if you could find any inspiration to cook from them.

"Give me back my sword, you damn thief!" Someone shouted running at full speed towards you. It was a green haired old man who seemed to be in a hurry as he pushed past you, nearly knocking you down.

Kai caught you before you fell, and after steadying you, he pulled out his sword angrily, "Hey, watch where you're going, asshole!"

"Don't start anything, really, I'm fine." You said holding him back.

"But that bastard didn't even apologise! You could have been seriously- Hey, what's wrong?" He said noting the sudden change in your facial expression.

You were looking at the large display from the projector transponder snail. An announcer was talking from what appeared to be a battle arena.

You only caught up to the middle of the speech, but what he was saying had your eyes glued to the screen.

".... the second division commander of the infamous Whitebeard Pirates, and son of the Pirate King, Ace!" The announcer said, "His flaming fists punched through battleships and turned towns into burning hellscapes!"

_♤Why the hell is this person talking about Ace like this? How is he relevant to this country?♤_

"That terrifying power has been reborn into the world in the form of a Devil Fruit. Behold! The winner of today's battle will be awarded this forbidden fruit!" He said. "From the logia family, the most powerful of all Devil Fruits: The Flare Flare Fruit!"

You gasped in disbelief. So Crocodile was right after all, the fruit was here, in Dressrosa. How the hell did Doflamingo get his hands on Ace's fruit?

"Hey, Y/N-san, are you okay? What's wrong, are you sick?" Kai asked in concern.

"They have... Ace's fruit..." You said.

"Ace?" Kai looked up at the screen where the man was talking about powerful warriors from all over the world who would be fighting for the Devil Fruit. "Did you know him?"

"Yeah he is... he... he's Sabo's brother." You said instead.

"Oh, I see." Kai said. "They said anyone can register and fight for the fruit. Do you want me to do it? I'm sure I can put up a decent fight?"

You shook your head and forced a smile, "Don't worry about it, Kai. Sabo said he'll take care of it, so let's leave it up to him. Come on, let's go to the restaurant."

You distracted yourself with some Dressrosa food, which was actually really good. After that, you and Kai went around the clothing shops, checking out some textiles. You were conversing with the shop owner about which clothes are more breatheable.

"Try this fabric," He advised, showing you a pretty purple fabric. "The dancers love buying these, they are quite good."

You touched the fabric, and you liked it's texture.

"Oh, those dancers we saw outside? Man, the women in this country are really beautiful." Kai commented.

The shop owner chuckled. "I'd stay away if I were you kid, the prettier they are, the more dangerous they are. Dressrosa women are passionate about love, and if you're unfaithful, you get stabbed to death."

"Seriously?" You asked, and the man nodded.

"Oh, that's scary. But it's a good thing I have the only beautiful woman I'll ever need right here with me." Kai smiled.

You rolled your eyes, "I'll take the fabric, sir."

After that, the two of you walked around the town, looking for other beautiful fabrics and dresses. You were sure that you could give the fabric to Elizabeth once you got to Kammabaka Kingdom and she would make you something pretty.

One time while walking around, Kai stiffened and lowered his hat (complete with the standard Revolutionary goggles on top of it) to hide his face as two figures passed you by.

"Who was that?" You asked, seeing the worried look on his face.

"CP0." He said quietly. "I wonder what they are doing here?"

Oh, so those people were from the same organisation that used Kai? It was better to stay away from them then.

The two of you left that place and had lunch in a restaurant near the Corrida Coloseum and you want to the cook to see if she could give you any of her recipes. She was really nice, and the two of you got to exchanging cooking tips. Bored out of his mind, Kai sat outside the restaurant watching the battles in the arena.

When you were done exchanging recipes with the cook, you went outside to find Kai. He was visibly excited by the match that he had been watching.

"Y/N-san, this little old man named Lucy stole the spotlight of the entire match! He took down a whole giant with one punch! One punch! It was crazy!" Kai gushed. "And in the final moment, he fought with Don Chinjao and destroyed the stage when he defeated him. I'm serious. That's why the last block took so long to start!"

"It sounds like you had a lot of fun." You said to that unbelievable story. "You want to continue watching? I don't mind, I don't have anything else to do anyway."

"Really?" His eyes lit up. "Do you see the female gladiator? Isn't she pretty? She is strong too, though. She's been taking out guys twice her size! But for some reason everyone seems to hate her."

You looked at the girl through the screen. She was young, barely wearing any amour.

Suddenly, in the near distance, the roof of a building fell down like it had been cut, and everyone looked up. Kai pulled you inside the restaurant as more buildings started to collapse, and you hide under the table like it was an earthquake. There was a sudden crash outside and several people screamed. Kai stood on alert, his sword out, ready to attack anything that might harm you.

Following the crash, three gunshots sounded through the air, and you were afraid that someone was dead. You dared not move until the until the sound of the crowd outside had settled.

"I'll check the coast." Kai said stepping outside.

You waited in there until he returned.

"The Navy is all over the place, I don't think they recognised me though. But I suppose I'm not their priority anyway, I'm only worth forty million." Kai said.

The baby Transponder snail started ringing and you took it out.

"Hello?"

"Y/N? It's me. Listen, I just spoke to Sabo-kun, he has new orders for Kai, he should get you out of the island." Koala said.

"Back to the ship?"

"Yeah, he is going to be fighting in the final round of the tournament for the Flare Flare Fruit, so things might get nasty." She said.

Oh, so that was it. He was really going to fight for the fruit.

"I understand. He wants me to be safe." You said. "Okay, we'll leave."

"Good, he'll call you as soon as he's done." She said. "Oh, by the way, Robin-san is in this country too."

Your eyes widened. "Really? We can see her?" You asked. "Wait.... does that mean that Luffy-kun is here too?"

"Yeah, it's actually in his place that Sabo-kun is fighting."

"They already met?" You asked again.

"Yeah. I'm sure he'll tell you all about it. Now go." Koala said.

"Okay."

~

You sat outside the ship with Kai, just waiting. Sabo said he would call, so why hadn't he? It had been over an hour since you got back here.

All of a sudden, strings from the sky fell around the rocks surrounding the island and logded themselves on the ground. They looked like prison bars encasing the island in a cage. You all watched this in confusion.

"Kai, I can't reach anyone on the island! It's like communication has been cut off." Tetsu said a few minutes late coming out of the ship.

"Is it because of this thing?" Kai asked drawing his sword. He tried cutting the strings from the birdcage, but failed, instead falling back.

"Just what the hell is going on in there?" You asked fearfully.

You tried a few more times to contact Sabo, but the call would not get through. "I'm worried, I'll try to search for his voice with my observation haki."

"Okay." Kai said, standing beside you.

You let go of the song constantly playing in your head to keep the voices out, and opened your mind. It did not take long for the thoughts to start filtering in. You could hear Kai's worries, some incoherent words from Rouge as well as the inner voices of everyone here on the ship.

_♤Concentrate.♤_

You had to look through the cage, and find Sabo's voice, find out what was happening. However, as soon as you breached the cage through your mind, a multitude of thoughts flooded in.

Screams of pain and agony.

_"Please, _ _don't_ _ make me do this, _ _don't_ _ make me kill my wife!"_

_"Help! Somebody help me!"_

_"Don't hurt me! Please!"_

You could feel their pain and desperation as if it was your own. All the thoughts you could hear were crying.

"Stop it!" You screamed.

_"Save me!"_

_"Please stop hurting my people! Just kill me instead!"_

_"_ _I'm_ _ sorry, _ _I_ _ didn't want to hurt you. Please, _ _I_ _ just _ _can't_ _ control myself!"_

The voices merged together, you could not distinguish their pain from each other. You searched desperately for a different voice one not in agony.

"Please stop!" You screamed again clutching your head.

You searched for a different voice, an uncontrolled person, please. You found it, you found several.

_"_ _I'm_ _ gonna be the one to kick Mingo's ass!"_

_"Cora-san..."_

_"After _ _I_ _ defeat Doflamingo, _ _I'm_ _ gonna be a superstar. The papers _ _won't_ _ stop talking about me!"_

_"Wait for me, King Riku, I will definitely kill Doflamingo and restore the throne of Dressrosa to you."_

Just when you thought you had found a balance, a starting point, a voice louder than any other tore through the control you had established. A sinister laugh burns into your mind, a single voice overshadowing the rest.

🃏_"Honestly, it __didn't__ matter what __I__ became. Anything was fine with me.... _**_As long as _****_I_****_ could destroy this world."_****🃏**

You could feel so much hatred from that voice, that it overwhelmed you. It stood out above everyone else, sinister and confident. You couldn't bear to look inside that mind.

You passed out.

***  
You woke up three days later, at night. Sabo was sitting on the chair in front of the bed, examining a gun.

"Sabo?" You said quietly.

He jumped, and then smiled. "You're finally awake, I was starting to worry. How are you feeling?"

"Like I could eat a horse." You yawned.

"I'll tell Maya to prepare something, hold on." He left the cabin for a minute and returned with some apples. "Eat this meanwhile."

You sat up. "How long was I out?"

"Three days."

"What happened with the battle? Is everyone okay?" You bit into the apple.

Sabo looked delighted, "Doflamingo was defeated, by Luffy."

"Oh? Really?" You smiled too. "He must be really strong then! Oh... wait did I miss him? Did they already leave?"

"No," He shook his head. "I went to see him earlier tonight, but he was still asleep, so I spoke to his friends. We'll go see him again in the morning before we leave."

"Okay. I can't wait."

"Koala and the others already left earlier today, we cant take any chances with CP0 around. So I'm just waiting for you to get better before we leave." Sabo said.

"If they took the boat, how are you going to get back to Baltigo?" You asked.

"I'll go with Karasu, don't worry."

You looked up, "Karasu-san is here?"

"Yup. He's helping us transport the weapons." He explained.

"I see." You said, looking at the apple you just ate. "By the way, Sabo, did you manage to get the Flare Flare Fruit?"

He smiled. "Of course I did. It's an important keepsake left by my brother after all."

You smiled too.

"Check this out. I can kinda control it now," He took of his glove, and his hand transformed into fire. A spark flew onto his desk, setting a few papers on fire. "Oh no!" He hurriedly put it out before it got too bad.

"Maybe you ought to practise a little more first." You laughed.

~

The next morning, after you made sure that all your stuff was packed and ready for you when you came back to depart, you took Rouge with you and followed Sabo.

He borrowed one of Karasu's crows and sat you and Rouge on it. He sat in front of you, guiding the crow on where it should go. Rouge was fidgety, seeming fascinated by the fluffiness of the crow's feathers.

"You know what this reminds me of? Flying through the sky on a crowd with you?" Sabo asked. 

"Our first date." You smiled. "Although I guess we can't really call it that... still, that was when I realised that I was in love with you."

"It seems like so long ago." He whispered as the crowd approached a small house on top of a hill of flowers.

"Wait here." Sabo said, leaving you at the back of the house.

You stood there, patting the crow, while Rouge picked a flower from the field, and handed it to you.

"You're so sweet, my baby." You said smiling at her and putting the flower behind her ear.

"Oh? Y/N-chan!" A delighted voice said and you turned to see Robin walking towards you with a smile on her face.

"Robin-san!" You ran straight into her arms. "I missed you so much! I'm so glad to see you!"

"You too." She said giving you a warm hug. Rouge jumped up and down, raising her arms. "Of course, you too, Rouge-chan. Look how big you've gotten!"

She picked her up, making the child giggle happily.

"Who is it, Sabo? The person you want me to meet?" Someone else said as Sabo approached with three other people.

One was stuffing his face with meat while carrying three more pieces on his free hand, the other had a long nose, the other green hair with a scar on his eye (he looked slightly familiar) and as for the last one, you weren't sure whether to cover Rouge's eyes or not seeing as he was wearing only a speedo with no pants.

"Her." Sabo said. "Her name is Y/N."

The dark haired boy with the meat shifted his eyes towards you. You recognised him instantly from the wanted poster of course.

"Luffy-kun!" You smiled.

He blinked, looking at you, "Y/N? I've never met you before... but your name sounds familiar." He scratched his head, "Where have I heard... Oh! Did you know Ace?"

"Ace?" You said in surprise. "Yeah, I did."

Then Luffy smiled happily. "So it was you, I see."

"I... what?"

"You were one of the people Ace mentioned before he died, that he said he was thankful to, for loving him." Luffy told you.

_♤Ace.♤_

"He said that?" You wouldn't cry, you would just be happy that Ace thought of you before he died.

"Yeah... so it was you. I'm glad you're okay. Did you protect her, Sabo?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah, I found her." He said.

Luffy beamed, "Sabo's a nice guy, isn't he?"

His smile is infectious. "Yeah he is." You said. "There's someone else you should meet. The child that Robin-san is holding, Ace and I had her together."

"Huh?" He asked.

This elicited a reaction from the other three as well. Long nose's jaw nearly dropped to the floor, the pervet's eyes nearly left their sockets and the swordsman was barely able to contain his surprise to just a gasp. Robin smiled.

"That's Rouge, Ace's daughter." Sabo clarified for Luffy.

"HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH???!" The boy exclaimed.

"It's true." You smiled, amused at the reaction.

"Ace's daughter?" Luffy stepped closer to Robin who was holding the child. "This thing?" He stretched out his hand and pocked Rouge in the forehead.

The child, never having seen a stretching hand before, must have thought it was interesting because she bit his hand.

You burst out laughing, "I'm sorry, she doesn't usually bite. I guess she likes you."

He retracted his hand, "Well, Ace attacked me the first time we met too, so it's okay." He said. "And Sabo tried to kill me the first time we met as well, it must run in the family."

Sabo laughed, "Maybe it does."

"I guess she could just be hungry too." Luffy said and seemed to nurse an agonising thought in his head before taking his extra piece of meat and giving it to Rouge, who was somehow able to hold it. "If she's Ace's daughter, then I can share it with her."

"Luffy just gave away his food!" The long nosed man said as if this was shocking news to end the world.

Robin chuckled, "That's Ussop. And that's Zoro and Franky."

"Oh, nice to meet you." You bowed. "I'm Y/N."

"Hi."

"Awwww. It's suuuper nice to meet ya!"

"By the way, where's Sanji-kun?" You asked.

"Oh, you know our cook?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah, I met him a little over a year ago... in his hell." You explained.

"I bet he must have been glad to see you." Zoro grunted.

"Oh yeah, he must have been _really _happy to see her." Ussop said.

"Oh, he really was." You laughed.

Sabo scowled, "Who's that? Who was happy to see you and when?"

"No one you need to worry about, love." You said patting his shoulder.

"Are you just teasing me?" Sabo asked.

"No?" You giggled.

Robin smiled at both of you, "When's the wedding?" She asked.

Luffy, who had taken to examining the giant crow, turned back to you immediately. "Huh? You two are married?" He asked Sabo.

".... No." Sabo said at once.

You slipped your arm around his, feeling bold. "Not _yet._" You clarified.

"Then, when you get married, will you have a big wedding feast and invite me?" Luffy asked.

Before Sabo could protest, you smiled and answered, "Of course, we wouldn't dream getting married without you there."

"Yay, I can't wait."

No matter how bold you had been, you refused to meet Sabo's eyes, not knowing what expression he would have. Robin looked amused.

Unfortunately you could not stay too long with the Straw Hats and you had to part soon, with the promise of inviting them to your (one sided, self proclaimed) wedding.

Sabo didn't say much on the way back to the ship, only, "You are really... a very dangerous woman." But he did not look mad.

***

When you arrived back at the ship, Maya gladly took Rouge from you, you were a little tired, from everything that happened, and you wanted nothing more than to sit down and rest. You really ought to remember that you were eating for two now.

"You're leaving right now, right?" You asked Sabo.

"I am. The others are waiting for me, and CP0 is on the lookout for us. I'll leave as soon as you guys go." Sabo said.

"We're ready to leave anytime, my stuff is ready." You told him.

He nodded. "Guys, come over here." He said to Maya and Kai. They both came and stood next to you.

"Maya, do me a favour and help out Y/N with Rouge, okay? She's still not feeling very well, but she'll pretend she's fine, so look after her for me, okay?" Sabo asked. "Also, she needs help cooking for the crew too. What do you say, will you do it?"

The girl smiled, and nodded as if it was no problem at all.

"Thank you. Now, Kai, every mission you've been on, has been under my supervision. But today, you're the one leading this mission. I want you to take my family to Momoiro Island." Sabo said next.

Kai stood, dumbfounded. "But that's such an important task... do you really want to entrust it to me?"

"I wouldn't entrust it to anyone else. Will you promise me that you'll deliver my family safely to the island?" He asked.

"Yes, Sensei!" Kai bowed. "I promise to protect them. No harm will come to your family, even if I have to give my life for it!"

"You idiot." Sabo ruffled his hair. "When I say my family, that includes you too."

If Kai was dumbfounded before, it was nothing compared to now. His eyes filled with tears and he turned away, Maya patting his shoulder in amusement.

"When did he become such a crybaby?" Sabo wondered.

"You know, you can be sweet when you want to." You said, wrapping your arms around his waist.

"Only when I want to?" He asked. He lowered his head, and kissed you goodbye for now.

You looked up at him with a slight pout. "When exactly will you be coming to Kammabaka Kingdom? Is there a lot that you still need to do in Baltigo?" You asked.

He nodded. "There's still a few people left there, but not many. We just need to put everything in order and destroy the place so that Cipher Pol doesn't find any evidence linking us to it if they ever happen upon the island." He said. "I'll see you in about three weeks."

"That's actually sad. I really liked that place." You sighed. "It felt like home."

"Don't worry, we'll build a new home together." Sabo looked at your sad face and placed a hand on your face, "When we meet again, there's something I need to ask you."

You considered for a moment if you should tell him the truth now, but then you decided against it. That's right. You, him and Rouge along with the rest of your family that you picked up along the way would find a way to make Momoiro Island your home. As long as you were together, it was possible.

After the farewell, he stood on the rocky shore, and watched the ship depart.

You would tell him next time.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm almost done with the next (and final😭) chapter.


	23. Freedom

"500 000 000? Wow! Luffy-kun's outdone himself this time." You smiled looking at the wanted poster the next day at sea. "I bet Sabo's really happy."

"Well," Kai said looking over your shoulder. "That's to be expected, I mean, he and Trafalgar Law worked together to bring down Doflamingo. Man, I'm never gonna get my bounty that high!"

Maya laughed, 'It's ten times yours.'

The three of you were sitting out on the deck of the ship on the way to the Kammabaka Kingdom. You were going to be travelling for a while, and meeting an ally on an island close to the Redline where you would get your ship coated again for the journey through Fishman Island.

"Hey, don't make fun of me, I'm in charge of the ship, you know... I can assign you the worst duties ever." Kai huffed, looking annoyed at Maya.

"I think it's a good thing." You said, watching Rouge playing on the floor with the toys that you had gotten from Marco. "I mean, you can go on stealth missions without being recognised can't you?"

He paused, "I suppose." Kai seemed to enjoy being in charge, taking the opportunity to try getting into a leadership role, which you were sure was what Sabo had in mind when he gave him this mission. "But Sensei said that when he comes back, we can start training in haki, so I can't wait to get even stronger."

"That's great, Kai. Look at you acting mature!" You smiled.

"Of course, I figured it out, that's what you like, right Y/N-san?" He grinned. "You like strong men, so if I get stronger than Sabo-sensei, I bet you'll leave him for me, no que-"

Maya picked up a toy and threw it right on his face, while she wore a scowl on hers.

"Ouch! What was that for?" Kai said clutching his head.

"Yeah, you deserved that for being so completely dense." You laughed.

"Dense? What did I do?" He asked, as Maya pouted, picked up Rouge and went back inside.

"What was that about?" He wondered, and just then, out of nowhere, the sky started to darken.

"Kai!" The navigator called from the crow's nest, "We're approaching the next island, a rain of lightning is coming this way in about a minute!"

"WHAT?!" Kai asked panicked.

"Sorry, I'm not as good at catching these things on time as Sabo-san. We need to go east!" The navigator said.

"Okay, okay. First, Y/N-san, get inside the ship, you'll be safe there." Kai said, and you nodded. "Then, um, right, Tetsu, turn hard to starboard! Hurry everyone, raise the sails!"

Everyone hearing the orders immediately set out to work, and you went inside so you would not get caught in the storm. While he panicked a little, you thought Kai seemed to be doing a decent job.

***  
Two weeks after you arrived to Momoiro Island, you were busy gathering cooking ingredients with Tiffany. Sabo was leaving Baltigo today, so he would be here with Koala and Dragon-sama and everyone else in a few days. You wanted to prepare something good to welcome them to your new home. While you were looking for a certain root, Inazuma hurried up to you with a worried look on her face.

"Y/N, hurry back to the palace, something urgent has come up!" She said.

You had never seen her look that worried before, so you followed her inside, where Iva sat reading the World Economic Journal. He looked up when you came in, and seemed hesitant to show you what he was reading.

You frowned in that moment because you could tell that something was wrong. "What is it?" You asked.

"Well, nothing is confirmed yet, so I don't want you to worry since it might just be nothing." Iva said, still holding the newspaper.

You held out your hands for it and he sighed, handing it over. You gasped when you read the front page article title which read, _"Revolutionary Army Headquarters Destroyed!"_

There were pictures of Sabo and Dragon-sama on the front page there as well. What was going on? What was this? What the hell happened?

"The long rumoured mysterious location has been discovered after decades of searching. The headquarters of the Revolutionary Army, Baltigo has been discovered and is already.... in utter ruin." You read what the article was saying.

Sabo had said that they were going to remove all evidence from Baltigo but had someone gotten there before they could and destroyed it first? Just who the hell had done that? You read on.

"An anonymous source reported the location of the settlement to the authorities, however, by the time that the navy and Cipher Pol got there, the entire base had been leveled to the ground by..." You felt anger burning at the pit of your stomach. The Blackbeard Pirates. Just when you had put all the crap with Teach behind you, he went and pulled something like this? After everything that happened with Ace, was he just going to keep coming after people that you loved? "Blackbeard clashed briefly with Cipher Pol before fleeing from the scene..."

"It doesn't say anything about what happened to the Revolutionaries, but perhaps no news, is good news?" Inazuma said.

You felt slightly faint.

_♤I _ _can't_ _ go through this again in the middle of another pregnancy. I _ _can't_ _. No, _ _I'll_ _ have father. Sabo said that he was coming back, so _ _I_ _ know he will.♤_

"They haven't contacted us at at all?" You asked. "Not even you, Iva-san?"

"No, but if anything had happened to Sabo or Dragon, I'm sure that they would put that on the front page, so I'm sure they are okay." Iva said. "They probably can't risk making contact with us since Cipher Pol is close to them. They don't want to risk being found."

"I'm sure that's it. Yeah." You said. "Excuse me, I need some air."

You hurriedly left there and went outside on the balcony to take a breath. You touched your abdomen worriedly and looked out at the sea.

_♤_ _He's_ _ fine. He'll get back to us.♤_

"Y/N-san!" Kai came rushing over to where you were standing. "I just saw the article, I'm sure Sensei is okay!"

You glanced at him and gave him a small smile. "I'm know, I'm not worried at all."

"He's strong, so I'm sure he made it out of there okay," The boy continued to reassure you. "He wanted me to get you here safely so that he can return to you. I know for a fact that he will definitely come back here."

Your hand shook as you grasped the paper in your hands. It wasn't enough to tell yourself everything was going to be okay, but hearing it from someone else seemed to make it more believeable.

"There is still something here that I don't understand. Why would Teach.... no, Blackbeard, go after the Revolutionary Army? We've never had any quarrel with him or his crew that I know of!" You said.

"Well, I heard that Sensei defeated one of Blackbeard's men back in Dressrosa. Maybe that's why? Maybe they just want revenge or something. But the real question is, how did they find Baltigo?" Kai wondered.

"It says here that an anonymous tip alerted the authorities." You said.

"Yeah, that's how the World Government found out, but Baltigo is an uncharted island, so how did the Blackbeard Pirates found it?" Kai frowned. "Unless they had, like, a vivre card or something, I don't see how they could have found it."

"We'll just have to hear from Sabo and everyone when they come back." You said, a little more confident now. He would definitely be here soon.

Still, the destruction of Baltigo was quite saddening to you on its own. Nana died on that island, and you scattered some of her ashes on that sea. You were glad that you had not buried her instead.

***  
You had taken to sitting out on the balcony and watching the sea for oncoming ships. One such day, as you hummed Nana's song to yourself, "_Sunset, sunset little bit of sunshine.... By the sea, by the sea waiting for the future...",_ you finally saw something on the sea.

As you watched from the balcony, a giant ship could be seen in the ocean, as it sailed closer to the island, you saw the familiar figurehead of a dragon on it and you jumped up.

"It's the Wind Granma!" You said, and you immediately rushed to the harbour. As you ran there, you ran into Kai who had been on his way to tell you that the ship was here.

Most of the citizens of the Kammabaka Kingdom were already waiting on the shore to welcome the ship, with Iva in the forefront.

Dragon-sama came down from the ship with Koala and Hack and you were relieved to see that they were okay. When Sabo finally came out, he searched the crowd for you, and you ran towards him happily, and hugged him.

"You're late." You said holding onto him while holding back tears of relief.

"I know." He held on to you. "I'm sorry for worrying you."

"I already told you not to apologise for things that you would do again. You'll always make me worry." You smiled sadly.

"I always seem to do that, don't I? I'm sorry, Burgess sneaked into one of our ships, and his crew mates used his vivre card to find Baltigo." He told you.

"None of you look injured, how did you make it out?" You asked.

"We found Burgess before they arrived, thankfully. We just had to move up our trip a day early." He explained. "It was futile to fight a battle with the Blackbeard Pirates, not now that we have so much to do at the Reverie."

"Oh... so that's what happened." You said.

"Yeah, so do you forgive me for making you worry?" He asked.

"Maybe." You smiled up at him.

"Please?" He said, leaning in closer for a kiss. You were glad to receive it, having waited for so long watching the sea for him.

When you finally broke apart, Sabo frowned and stepped back, looking you over.

"What is it?" You asked.

"Forgive me if this is my imagination, but... have you gained some weight?" He asked.

"W-What?" You said. You had not noticed anything, but Sabo was pretty perceptive and you hadn't seen each other in over three weeks. Still, you were only three and a half months into your pregnancy, you weren't showing yet.

"I'm sure it isn't my imagination. I know your body pretty well. You've definitely gained a little weight." He tilted his head. "Especially around the chest area."

"Wh.... ah, wow... is that all you think about?" You asked punching him lightly on the shoulder. "I can't believe I missed you."

"I mean, you look great, this means you're not sick anymore, right?" He said.

"Hmph." You turned away and walked away in a huff.

"If you disagree," He followed behind you trying to catch up with you while carrying his bag. "You can just let me examine your whole body myself."

"Is that what you were aiming for the whole time?" You asked.

"No... maybe?" He smiled, "Come on, it's been a month!"

"I'll think about it." You said, acting coy.

"Come on... you said you missed me.."

"Did I? When?"

"Hey, wait up!"

***

A week later, there was an excited tension in the air on the day that the top commanders of the Revolutionary Army were coming to Momoiro Island, and you and Tiffany were busy helping with preparing dinner for everyone when they arrived.

The next mission was also unspoken between you and Sabo because you knew that this was something that they had been building up to for the longest time, with the Reverie oncoming, and they were ready to give the world their answer. You knew he would be leaving again soon, even though he had only been here for a week.

Before all that, however, Sabo was too busy grinning from ear the entire day after reading the article about Luffy becoming the Fifth Emperor.

He ran around the island bragging to anyone who would listen that this was his little brother.

"I was impressed by the 500 million berries, but he just took it to a whole other level!" You said reading that article.

"That's right! He tripled his bounty in about a month! How amazing is that?" Sabo asked lying on the grass and snatching the article from you in order to reread it. "The fifth Emperor! He is doing so well!" The smile on Sabo's face was close to permanent at this point.

You could not help but think of Ace in that moment, how excited he was to see Luffy's first bounty poster. He carried it with him everywhere as well, like a proud brother.

You smiled.

Sabo and Ace were so similar, but they were also very different from each other. Both of them gave you a light to look up to at difficult times in your life and were there when you needed them the most. If you had met them both at the same time, you did not know if you would have been able to choose only one.

You shook the the thought out of your head, and cleared the table just as Sabo received a call from one of the four commanders of the Revolutionary Army stating that they were on their way.

It was honestly a little intimidating to be in the presence of such strong and distinguished members of the army, the commanders who each watched over the North, East, West and South seas of the world, freeing innocent people from the oppression of the World Government. Karasu, Belo Betty, Lindbergh and Morley were all a strange assortment of characters but they all seemed passionate about the work that they did to the point that they were late to the meeting due to being busy saving a nearby kingdom from pirates.

Even though you were not a part of their meeting, you felt happy to be here, witnessing such an important moment which you felt was the lead up to something that would change the world you were living in.

***

_"Freedom is the right to choose how to live your own life as you wish. The rich, poor, strong and weak can live equally free in this kingdom. Everyone who wants to be free, should be free, even you. That is my idea of a perfect world_." You read from 'A Perfect World', your favourite book.

The book that you had loved from the first time you read it, not knowing that Sabo had written it. This was his idea of a perfect world, of what true freedom would be like. You wondered if he would be able to achieve it in this lifetime.

The door opened, and you put the book away.

"How did the meeting with the commanders of the Revolutionary Army go?" You asked, sitting up on the bed when Sabo came into your room that night.

"I think we've got everything all planned out." Sabo said taking off his coat. "We're leaving tomorrow."

"I see." You said. Tomorrow, huh? This was the last night that you two would have before he went to the Reverie.

You did not know why, but you felt uneasy in your heart, or perhaps you were just afraid. It felt like he was a soldier waiting at camp the night before the battle and you wanted him to have something to take with him to that war.

As soon as he got into the bed, you moved closer to him, trying to hide your worries, and just wanting to be with him. You reached up and brought his face closer to yours, kissing him as your heart beat with both fear and anticipation.

"Are you too tired?" You asked.

"I'm never too tired for you." He said pulling you closer.

Maybe you wanted to remind him of what he was fighting for, or maybe you just wanted to give yourself to him again that night, but you allowed yourself to see and touch every inch of him as if by doing so you could keep him here.

He let you do whatever you wanted, after all, this night was about you. In that union, you gave not just your body to him, but you tried to convey as much emotion into every touch as you possibly could, letting him feel your fear and insecurity, even though you weren't telling him everything, you wanted him to see how much you wanted him to stay with you.

~

The next morning, you went to get Rouge who had been sleeping with Maya, and brought her to the cot in your room while Sabo was finishing getting ready.

"Is the ship ready to go?" You asked when he was done.

"Yeah, I'm already late. It's going to be a long journey after all." He said, looking at you.

He didn't have to say it, you could already tell that they were planning something big at the Reverie. Your brother would be there along with 49 other kings from all over the world. The security would be unbelievably tight to protect all of them, not to mention the Celestial Dragons. This was no doubt a dangerous mission.

"You'll come back alive, right?" You whispered.

Sabo took your hand. "Last time before we parted, I told you that there was something I wanted to ask you. Here it is, back in Dressrossa, what you said, was that a proposal?"

Huh?

"When I said we'd invite Luffy-kun to our wedding?" You asked. Why was he asking that now of all times? "Maybe it was."

"I accept." He said.

_♤What?♤_

He took out a small box from his pocket, and got down on one knee.

You blinked, not believing your eyes.

The ring was gold, with a beautiful, simple design. He placed it on your finger with no hint of hesitation, not a doubt visible on his face. Shocked and surprised as you were at this sudden development, your heart swelled with happiness.

"Sabo..." You breathed.

"When I come back from the Reverie, let's get married." He was serious, and looking at you for a response.

Any response.

"Yes. I'll be waiting right here for you." You replied. And then he smiled, and stood up, pulling you with him.

His kiss was sweet, and his body felt hot, hotter than usual. You didn't mind it though, not wanting to lose that touch. In no time at all, you were losing yourself in him, and it occurred to you that there was still something that you should tell him. Now was as good a time as any.

"Wait." You said, pulling back, and he looked at you.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"There is something I have to tell you." This time, you would do the right thing. Just in case something happened to him, you wouldn't want any regrets. You took his hand, and placed it over your abdomen.

Startled, he looked at you with a confused face, before realisation dawned on him. "Wait...are you...are we..."

You nodded. "That's right. We're having a baby, Sabo."

He looked a little light headed and you helped him to sit down and catch his breath.

"How long have you known?" He asked.

"A few weeks. Are you okay?" You asked in concern. Maybe you shouldn't have told him.

Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring.

"I'm fine. I'm just really happy." He said. "I'm so happy!"

He pulled you closer, and held you tightly. You started to cry, but being here with him holding you, looking forward to the future was something good. In this moment, you honestly felt like everything was going to work out.

Ring, ring, ring, ring. Gotcha.

"Hello?"

"Sabo. Hurry up, the ship is about to leave. We're waiting for you." Lindbergh said over the snail.

"I'm on my way." Gotcha.

Sabo stood up, adjusted his hat and put on his coat. He looked in on Rouge who was sleeping in the cot, and touched her face. She smiled in her sleep.

You stood up and watched him as he walked towards the door.

"Sabo."

"I'm all the more resolved now. We'll declare war on the Celestial Dragons, and for you, for Rouge and for our unborn child, I will fight to raise them in a better world than this." He said. "Y/N, mark my words. I will create that world for you all." Sabo said, as you once more ran into his arms.

"I know you will. I believe in you completely." You said.

That's right, you would just wait for him here. That is all you ever needed to do for Sabo. He might keep you waiting for a long time, but Sabo always came back to you.

So, it was with complete faith that you sent him off, with hope that he would fight for the freedom that he had been chasing after his whole life. And that in the end, even with all the unknown dangers coming for him, he would be able to overcome it and return to you in order for you to be free together.

THE END

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's over. Thank you for reading all the way to the end. I love all of you, and I hope you enjoyed the story.
> 
> xoxo @foryoureyesonly1


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